Bomb threat makeup days considered in Augusta

School officials in eastern Georgia are fed up with a rash of bomb threats this year.

The threats and resulting evacuations often cost money and class time, so much class time that students in Augusta may face an extended school year.

So, like makeup days for snow, they're considering recouping the lost class time by requiring students to stay in school longer during the school year.

Many of the the threats happen at middle schools.

Officials suspect that students make most of the threats.

They hope the makeup days would create peer pressure for the threats to stop, since the makeup days would cut into the students' summer vacation.

But some school board members are questioning whether extending the school year is the most appropriate and effective way to stop the problem, since a longer school year would mean an added cost to the school system.

They're also looking at other options, such as whether the drivers licenses of students caught making the threats can be removed, and if their parents can be fined.

Augusta educators to increase class size to cope with teacher shortage

Officials in eastern Georgia are struggling with more students per classroom in some schools.

School administrators in Augusta say budget cuts have caused a shortage of teachers. Because of that, they are seeking permission to expand class sizes in 62 elementary classrooms. It's a problem that school systems across the state have struggled with.

Barbara Pulliam is a school board member in Richmond County. She is also a retired teacher. She opposes efforts to increase class size:

"Small classes not only promote better learning. It eliminates discipline problems. Small classes [are] the answer to a lot of the problems that we're having."

School officials say their request is small: 62 out of 813 classrooms. The matter now goes before state education officials.

Richmond schools to use aerosol spray to detect drugs

A school system in the eastern Georgia city of Augusta plans to use a unique method for identifying students who use illegal drugs. Here's how it works: Coat a desk or a locker with aerosol spray. If the object turns a different color, the student may be using illegal drugs.

Richmond County school officials say using the spray would be less intrusive than bringing in police dogs or conducting urine tests. It can detect marijuana, cocaine, heroin and amphetamines.

"We could actually, rather than testing the student, we may opt to go to their locker," said Dr. Dana Bedden, Richmond County's school superintendent. "It could be a parent who comes to the school and say I may be concerned that my child might be involved, and we can offer a resource to them to say do you have any of their clothing or anything that you may want to have us test."

The spray is part of a research study funded by the federal government.

Richmond superintendent urges calm

A school superintendent in eastern Georgia says staff members and medical personnel are doing everything they can to prevent students, teachers and employees from getting staph infection. But he's urging the public not to panic.

Richmond County's superintendent, Dana Bedden, said in a news conference today that officials are disinfecting schools. They're also repeatedly teaching children about personal hygiene.

Bedden told reporters in Augusta that many parents have called his office, worried their children might get a deadly disease. But he stressed that the staph, called MRSA, is very treatable.

"We've got some overreaction here," said Bedden. "People are treating people like they've got the plague. No child, no person, needs to be treated in that manner. It is treatable. It is manageable if people follow the instructions that are given by the health officials."

Bedden announced that an elementary school student is the fourth person in the Richmond County school system to have MRSA.

Officials in nearby Columbia County say 12 students there have had the infection.

Facilities affected by MRSA in Richmond County

Richmond County school officials have confirmed Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcous Aureus in these facilities:

Blythe Elementary School (1 case)
Glenn Hills Middle School (1)
Richmond County Board of Education administration building (1)