There are more than 150 students in the Covington County School System who have been identified as gifted, but the system does not currently have a specialist to work with them.

Covington County Special Education Coordinator Kelly McCollough shared the numbers with the Covington County Board of Education Tuesday.

“As of today, we have 67 gifted kids in grades 4 through 6, and in 7 through 12 we have 90,” McCullough said. “We are still testing grade 3, and we have 16 qualified and 10 more to test, so we have a possibility of adding 26 others.”

Based on the numbers, McCullough said, the county could justify having two gifted specialists. However, most of the funding for those positions would have to come from local funds, she said.

“We are required by law to provide services, but it’s a non-funded program,” she said. “I am here tonight to put this information out there so you can think about it in the future.”