HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Henry County and its 42,000 students will head back into the classroom on Monday for the first day of the school year.
The state’s eighth largest school district says it is operating with a historic budget to invest in students, teachers and staff.
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The Henry County Board of Education approved more than $800 million budget for the 2026-27 year. The funding comes from several years of penny sales tax. School leaders are investing a large part of that money for its 42,000 students, starting with the younger kids.
“All of our K and 1 students will get an iPad to supplement their learning and help bring along their literacy, mathematics and everything else that’s incorporated with what they’re learning during the school day. So we’re very excited about that,” Superintendent Dr. John Pace II said.
That investment has paid off in recent years.
“we’ve seen student achievement go up. We’ve seen our college and career readiness improve, seen our graduation rates improve. We’ve seen we’ve seen our acceptances to college improve))
As for students returning for their final year, they said it’s important to them to finish strong.
“We really just want to make sure this year that the students are heard. You know, make sure that everybody’s included and have a really great time for this year,” senior Nicholette Echols said.
Count on Channel 2 Action News This Morning starting at 4:30 a.m. for full “Back 2 School” coverage, what families can expect and the impact on traffic for everyone.
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