While students don’t have to pay for breakfast or lunch at Liberty County schools, they panned the quality of what they’re being served.

Several students who spoke at Dr. Marcus Scott’s annual town hall meeting on the school system Thursday widely and roundly criticized the taste of the food being served. But they had high praise for their teachers.

Scott’s annual town hall was held at Baconton Missionary Baptist Church in Allenhurst and covered topics from transportation to school system spending to school discipline.

Students also asked for more money to be allocated toward fine arts and, since high school students are in classes for 90 minutes at a time, new furniture. Students also asked for more field trips to be made available for those not in Advanced Placement or honors courses.

But when it came to the food, students were in agreement — they didn’t like it. School system operations director Arnold Jackson said he eats at the schools once a week.

“If there’s something I like, I tell them,” he said. “If there’s something I don’t like, I tell them.”

Jackson said the school system has taste tests and invites students to take part, but one student said what is served eventually to students doesn’t taste the same as it does in the taste test.

Jackson also said what officials have found is students prefer “hot,” as in spicier, food.

Nearly two-thirds, 65%, of students participate in the free breakfast, well above the state average of 36.4%. The schools’ lunch participation rate also outpaces the state’s, with 79% of Liberty County students eating lunch, while 70% do so across the state. As of March 1, the schools had served more than 959,000 school lunches. They’ve also served more than 77,000 afterschool snacks. The school system has provided free breakfast and lunch for all students and the grant to keep that going runs through 2028.

The school system also spelled out its goals for the nutrition department, including better cross-training and increased culinary training and using more Georgia Grown and local vendors. Also on tap are “taste test” menu items, student choice day, where students vote for the menu offerings, and grab-and-go options.

Superintendent Debra Frazier said the school system has a mission to elevate excellence in everything it does.

“I don’t take lightly the responsibility of making our students college or career ready,” she said.

Frazier added the schools are working on strengthening its relationship with the military, and it has improved the culture and climate throughout the school district. Liberty County schools also now are holding Parent University, to help boost parent engagement.

The schools also are working with principals to identify and develop future leaders and is using data to target support for schools.

“We have worked hard to identify our struggling students,” she said.

Among the system’s area of concerns are three schools — Snelson-Golden Middle School, Midway Middle School and Waldo Pafford Elementary School — on an academics priority list.

“We are working aggressively to make sure they don’t stay on that list,” Frazier said.

The superintendent added the school system is pushing forward on its efforts to increase literacy, rolling out its Power of 100 program, and is working on staffing and recruiting and improving student attendance.

“We have done some things to address student attendance and address chronic absenteeism,” she said.

The schools’ transportation department has 14,000 riders a day and travels a million miles a year. More than 13,000 students are taken on buses for athletics events or other extracurricular activities, including field trips. Those trips amount to more than 120,000 miles a year, said Willie Barrett, the school system’s transportation director.

The system has purchased four new large buses and four activity buses, bringing its fleet total to 128. Since 2020, the system has bought more than 60 new buses, using education special purpose local option sales tax proceeds, and has lowered the average age of the bus fleet from 19 to nine years.

The system’s new activity buses, because of their size, do not require drivers to have CDLs. Those buses carry up to 14 passengers, though drivers must complete classroom driving and pass a driving test.

Currently, the system’s on-time arrival percentage stands at 96% for the school year, up from 91% for the 2024-25 school years.

“The biggest challenge is traffic congestion,” Barrett said.

The system has 84 drivers and has opening for nine drivers. It has pushed for the recruitment of drivers, using the Fort Stewart transition center, job fairs and even asking employees to spread the word of openings.

There have been 2,900 people to sign up for the system’s StopFinder app and route buses have Wayfinder Navigation. One student asked if students were allowed to sign up for StopFinder, which enables parents to see where their child’s bus is, and Barrett said he would look into it.

Teacher recruitment and retention also is an issue not just for Liberty County schools but systems across the state and nation. Thirty- four states, according to the Education Commission of the States, have reported teacher shortage data in the last two years.

The school system has added a $2,000 salary supplement, made possible from the state. The system is making the bonus available to all full-time staff, those working 49% who are actively employed and substitutes who have worked 25 days or more.

The state is providing $2.35 million out of the total $3.3 million needed for the bonuses. The remaining $934,000 is coming out of the school system’s general fund.

As of March 24, there were 52 resignations and eight retirements from the 674 total teachers in the system. The school system has 1,504 full-time positions, and 1,460 of those are filled.

Teachers leaving the system are given exit interviews, and Michele Dasher, the school system’s human resources director, said the results show a variety of reasons. The top reasons are retirement and relocation, while some teachers leave the system because of long commutes, such as those from Savannah, Statesboro and Brunswick.

Jackson added the school system has spent more than $5 million in safety and security upgrades at the schools, which include new weapons detection systems, upgraded security cameras, security vestibules and an agreement with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office to provide school resource officers. The weapons detection systems are portable, so they can be taken to the front entrances at athletic events.

The schools also offer 16 Advanced Placement courses in high school and there are 134 students in dual enrollment classes with partners such as Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, Augusta State University, Savannah Technical College and Ogeechee Technical College.

School system officials urged parents to make sure their children get plenty of rest and are ready to go for the upcoming Georgia Milestones tests. The Milestones tests, which are the end-of-grade exams in elementary and middle school and end-of-course in high school, run April 27–May 7 for elementary and middle schoolers and May 5–14 for high schoolers.

Parents are being asked to make sure students get a good breakfast, maintain a consistent routine during test week and to encourage their children. They’re also asked to encourage their students read the test instructions carefully and to practice online at www. gaexperienceonline.com.