Unlike the Andalusia and Opp city school systems, the Covington County Schools system should be able to maintain its current level of staffing, Superintendent Terry Holley said.

“First off, we’re in a different situation than other systems,” Holley said. “We are waiting until we get the budget in hand, because until we get that, you really can’t predict what we’re facing.”

Holley explained that, “over the last two years, we’ve been anticipating these things.”

“When we have teachers to retire, we look how that impacts our system overall, as well as what exactly are the needs that we have. Our biggest thing is teacher-to-pupil ratio. We will do what we have to maintain that.

“To be honest, (the system) is in good shape,” Holley said. The CCS is one of the top systems in the state in regards to operating funds in reserve, with six months in reserve.

“The past superintendents and the board have always looked out for the needs of the children and utilized all of the funds in the best way they thought possible,” he said.

“And we’ve done things that have really helped us in the long run.”

–Stephanie Nelson