The Overton County School System encouraging every district family to fill out this year’s household survey to gauge the district’s financial standing,
Federal Programs Director Lesley Riddle said the program is used to determine the amount of federal Title I funding the schools are eligible for. Riddle said the survey gauges the district’s poverty rate. Riddle said when funding comes in, the survey will help her determine how much should be allocated to each school.
“Once the Title I funding is given to the school, the school can use that money however they need to for instruction,” Riddle said. “And it’s not just for the students that would receive free and reduced lunches, it’s used by every student. That’s why we need everybody to fill it out.”
Riddle said the survey is available on the Overton County Schools website under the Household Survey link.
Riddle said the survey is needed this year because the schools now offer free breakfast and lunch to every student. Riddle said in previous years, the free and reduced lunch applications were used to gauge the need.
Riddle said the amount of funding will not be determined by the financial standing of survey applicants.
“It just helps us to know that all of the families and all of the students have filled out the application,” Riddle said. “We like to make a checklist and check students off as their family has completed it so we know everybody has had that opportunity, so we need everybody to do it when they can.”
Riddle said the funding can be used for anything instruction related. She said this covers school supplies like pencils and paper, or more modern equipment like headphones and laptops.
Riddle said federal funding is vital for the school system, and it is used to cover a wide array of expenses.
“We get a lot of money from the federal government to help us run,” Riddle said. “We pay salaries, like I said, we’re able to buy all kinds of instructional equipment. We’re able to support our arts program, our music program, our PE programs. It helps us with professional development for our teachers.”
Riddle said people who need help completing the survey can call their child’s school for assistance, as there is a survey expert at each building. Riddle said parents can also request a paper copy of the survey.
“We don’t want that to be a barrier,” Riddle said. “Someone who doesn’t have access or is uncomfortable with the technology. We can do a hard copy for them. If they’ll just contact their school or the Central Office, we’ll help them get it completed.”
