‘We are very excited:’ Nearly 40,000 students in Clay County go back to school

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly 40,000 students in Clay County returned to the classroom Tuesday morning.

“There is nothing like the excitement of the first day of school, seeing the smile on children’s faces,” said Clay County Schools’ Superintendent David Broskie.

Action News Jax caught up with parents and students on the first day of school.

Esther Zeigler walked her daughter to school for her first day of kindergarten.

“She woke up early on her own because she was super excited,” said Zeigler.

Grove Park Elementary School in Clay County is welcoming back just over 400 students.

“We’ve got a life again back in our building, so we are very excited,” said Justin Jones the principal of Grove Park Elementary.

The district is opening doors to 43 schools, and more than 5,000 employees.

And with those numbers, the roads are more crowded.

The transportation director for Clay County, Randall Crawford, is stressing the importance of safety measures as school buses are back on the roads.

“All the busses, all traffic is coming in,” said Crawford. “We just ask parents be patient, be aware of these buses, and be aware of the red flashing lights there. That means stop and we just want to make sure that everybody is just safe.”

But it’s not just safety on the roads.

As the new school year officially begins, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office is taking over security responsibilities at all the schools this year.

Every school in the county will have a uniformed deputy who’s gone through rigorous training.

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