FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – When West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced last week that West Virginia schools would be closed, Fayette County Schools had already been preparing.
Fayette County Superintendent Terry George says one of their biggest concerns was making sure the students who rely on the meals at school could still have access to free breakfast and lunch.
That’s why bus drivers took off on their usual route on Monday, this time with food bags to hand out.
“Just sort of an all hands on deck,” Oak Hill High School Assistant Principal Chad Quesenberry said. “We had all of our bus drivers come in. Administrators were here, and then we had several volunteers. We had six from each of the schools on this campus. And the plan was just to get food out.”
There were meeting locations at different schools throughout the county where buses loaded up with packed bags and milks.
Fayette County Superintendent Terry George says they implemented a plan to do this and within 20 minutes, all slots were full for the week to make it happen.
“Our teachers stepped up today, and I am so proud of them and proud of all the other staff members,” George said. “Our cooks were in the building at 5:00 this morning. And our janitors, our custodians were here in the morning cleaning buildings, sanitizing things, helping load stuff. It just- it’s great. Fayette County citizens and Fayette County employees turn out when there’s a crisis in their county.”
While the classrooms are empty, the priority is to make sure the students’ stomachs are not. In this time of uncertainty those involved say it is all about making sure meals are guaranteed.
“There’s a lot going on,” Quesenberry said. “A lot of people are worried. A lot of people are scared. A lot of people are nervous, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to feed kids. There are a lot of kids here that rely on what we do for them day in and day out and so without hesitation, we put out the call and we had a lot of people answer.”
The county plans to do this starting at 10 a.m. every morning for as long as school is out.
The students were also sent home with school work packets.
