By Staff
Reading, writing and arithmetic are back in full swing as county and city school students heard the first school bells ring this morning.
Parking lots at W.S. Neal Elementary and Brewton Elementary were filled as parents dropped off students and bags of supplies for the first day of school.
W.S. Neal schools are expecting to see an increase in enrollment this year, while Brewton City Schools are experiencing a slight decrease in numbers.
At W.S. Neal High School, principal Phillip Ellis said he expects enrollment there to be up by nearly 100 students this year.
"We are probably seeing an extra 100 or so kids at the school today," Ellis said. "We won't have a final and formal count until sometime next week. We do know that we are going to have more students in class at Neal this year."
Brewton City Schools are also expecting to see fewer students in classrooms this year. Brewton City Schools Superintendent Lynn Smith some of the decrease can be attributed to higher fuel costs.
"We already had some of our middle school parents call to let us know their children won't be back at the school," Smith said last week. "Most of the callers have said it is due to the high cost of gasoline."
For additional information concerning the first days of school and enrollment outlooks for each system, see the Sunday and Wednesday editions of The Brewton Standard.