Greenville County Schools plans to resume in-school book fairs in January 2025.
Superintendent Burke Royster announced the decision during the Oct. 22 meeting of the GCS board of trustees. Book fairs were paused within the district in August, an action that received pushback from the public.
The initial decision was due to the South Carolina Regulation 43-170. The regulation outlines specific requirements on how instructional materials are made available to students including through book fairs.
Read more on the book fair pause
Over the past two months, GCS has designed a process that would allow schools to hold book fairs while complying with the state regulation. Four weeks before the book fair, vendors must submit a list of the books to schools to be reviewed by the media specialists. The list will be shared with parents to review and students will need a signed permission form to attend the book fair.
GCS has communicated the new process to several book fair vendors. Two vendors have signed an agreement acknowledging they will comply with the state regulation and will accept responsibility if a violation occurs. The district anticipates additional vendors will also agree to the district’s new process.
“We believe we have a positive path forward and there should be no reason for schools not to be able to conduct book fairs at their location if they choose to do so,” Royster said.
Approved: Reedy Laurel Elementary student assignment plan
At the Oct. 22 meeting, the board of trustees approved the student assignment plan for the new Reedy Laurel Elementary School and other schools in the district. The plan includes over 20 school boundary changes at the elementary, middle and high levels.
Approximately 900 students will be affected by the boundary changes including the 600 students reassigned to Reedy Laurel Elementary. The families of students impacted by the plan were notified and the district held several public input meetings for parents and guardians.
The new elementary school at 61 Isbell Lane in Greenville, near where Ridge Road passes over Interstate 85, will open in 2025. According to the student assignment plan, some students from Mauldin Elementary, Pelham Road Elementary and Sara Collins Elementary will be reassigned to Reedy Laurel Elementary.
Read more about the school boundary changes
Approved: Waiver request for missed school days
Hurricane Helene caused GCS to close from Sept. 27 to Oct. 8 due to widespread internet and power outages. As a result, the district extended the first quarter of the grading period by five instructional days to Oct. 21.
The board approved a resolution requesting the General Assembly forgive the eight school days missed due to the storm. The district believes it would not be feasible to make up the missed days.
One of the reasons listed in the resolution is that student holidays, weekends or summer days that are converted to regular school days are not highly attended. The inflexible graduation dates and standardized testing dates are also noted as being an inhibiting factor.
