WPTV gets answers about 'misunderstanding' over Martin County school supplies

As we near the end of the first week of school, some parents in Martin County are concerned their kids don't have the supplies they need in the classroom.

Last month, parents were excited to learn the Martin County School District would cover the cost of essential school supplies.

But now, we are hearing from many of you, saying your kids' classrooms don't have enough of necessities. So we took your concerns to school district leaders to sort out the confusion.

Martin County set aside about $300,000 for schools to purchase supplies, and parents were under the impression they were off the hook.

"I think its a misunderstanding," said Derek Lowe, the coordinator of public information and community relations for the Martin County School District. "I think when you hear school supplies are being covered, you may initially think that those luxury items that your students had in the past are being covered. They might have special binders or individual composition books for every single class, or the latest and greatest highlighters and gel pens. And we're in the business of providing the essentials and making sure kids have what they absolutely need to be able to succeed in their classes."

District leaders told us if schools don't have enough of the essentials, they can request more funding from the district.

"If there is an additional need for essential additional school supplies that you haven't seen yet or maybe you underestimated at the beginning of the school year, for teachers to reach out to their school administrators, and those school administrators to reach out to us at the district, and we will make sure no student in Martin County goes without the school supplies that they need to be successful," Lowe said.

District leaders also said be patient, as it is the first week of school and some orders are still coming in.

"We are not going to put kids in a situation where they don't have what they need to succeed," Lowe said. "It also is the first week of school, so I know for a fact that some schools have definitely placed orders that haven't arrived yet. And there are some schools that are still ordering supplies. They've come to notice the first couple days of school that we need to order more. We are happy to provide those, as long as they are essential school supplies and not things that are over the top. Be patient, work with us, work with your teachers. And teachers out there, school administrators, make sure you let us know if you have a need."