Schools all over are already gearing up for the start of the school year, but some schools in Jackson County are getting a bit of extra help free of charge.
A work program through the Appalachee Correctional Institution is reaching out to help beautify and repair the Sneads schools.
"We just have basically an understanding that when the summer gets here, when the spring gets here, when they're on break, we're going to send our squads up here and work and trying and benefit the community," says ACI Warden Sam Culpepper.
The work ranges from painting and yard work to waxing and building. Tasks that benefit not only the schools but the inmates, as well.
"They've been trained on the job. Some of them have skills that we use to our benefit. Some of them learn skills," say Culpepper. "It's something that benefits them for when they get out maybe they can learn something that can keep them out of prison."
Skills, that the warden says, have been valued at 10 dollars an hour. In tough economic times, this free work is a major financial benefit.
"They just provide so much work," says Carolyn Pilcher, the Sneads Elementary Principal. "The money saved by the county would be an astronomical amount, so having the services of a work camp in our community saves the county money, saves the state money."
The warden says these are minimum and community custody inmates who are directly supervised, and there are no inmates around when school is in session.
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