Schools report smooth first day of new year

Barkley Bridge Elementary School kindergarten teacher Pam Smith goes over school rules with her class on the first day of school. | Clif Knight

Schools opened Monday in Hartselle and rural Morgan County on a high note, according to reports received from superintendents of both school systems.

“We had a really smooth opening,” said Hartselle City Superintendent Dr. Mike Reed. “The only glitch we had was a transportation issue,” he added, “and that’s to be expected the first day or two and can be easily corrected.

“We’re looking forward to a great school year,” he noted.

Enrollment figures were slightly below what they were at the same time last year. Overall, 3,096 students were counted at the city’s five schools, a decrease of 40 from 2011-2012. Broken down, Hartselle High had 974, Hartselle Junior High 729, Crestline Elementary 548, Barkley Bridge Elementary 406 and F.E. Burleson Elementary 422. Burleson gain of 15 was the largest.

“We had several more students in attendance Tuesday morning and expect that trend to continue until after Labor Day,” Reed stated.

Morgan County School’s Superintendent Bill Hopkins said, “everything went great.

The only problem we had dealt with transportation issues but that’s something that’s expected with school opening, Time will work that out.

Teachers and students alike were excited,” he pointed out. “That’s a good start for a successful school year.”

First day enrollment figures were consistent with what they were a year ago,” Hopkins said. “We had a few schools with a small decrease but they were offset by others that had a slight increase.”