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LAFAYETTE – As announced at Wednesday’s school board meeting, every student in the Chambers County School District will receive a kit of school supplies filled with items appropriate for their specific grade level. The supplies are being distributed through an organization known as “Kits for Kidz,” providers of essential school supplies for underprivileged students in conjunction with numerous charitable partners.

“The amount of funding dedicated for this effort totals $130,000,” Chambers County School Superintendent Dr. Kelli Hodge said in a press release. “The kits contain all the basic items that parents would normally purchase for their children prior to the beginning of the school year. We are proud to offer this assistance to families who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Three different kits will be distributed to students according to their grade level. Children in kindergarten through second grade will receive a Primary Kit; third through fifth-grade students will get elementary kits; and, junior high/high school kits will be distributed for students in grades six through twelve. In addition, other bulk supplies will be made available throughout the school year.

“We are supplying the basic supplies for everybody,” Hodge said at the board meeting. 

Hodge said one of the reasons the schools will be supplying the kits is because families were hit hard during the pandemic. 

“So many people have been out of work during this time, and I know some unemployment is starting to run out for some people,” Hodge said at the board meeting. “We just wanted to be  able to help as much as we can.”

The Chambers County School District received a total of $1,169,925 in CARES Act funding. Remaining portions of the financial aid will be used for things such as cleaning and sanitizing supplies, personal protective equipment, two additional school nurses, special training, wi-fi on school buses, and a limited number of internet “hot spots” throughout the district. A portion of the money is also allocated to private schools for “equitable services,” and therefore Chambers Academy will receive $68,000.