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Bay County schools will continue providing free meals for students during the summer.

Will masks become optional in Bay County schools? Officials could decide next week. Tony Mixon, The News Herald © [NATHAN COBB/THE NEWS HERALD] To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Bay High School students wear face masks and socially distance while in classrooms. PANAMA CITY — Bay District Schools officials are slated to decide whether to make the district's mask mandate optional on May 11. Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Monday that immediately suspended all outstanding local COVID-19 emergency orders and related public health restrictions. The bill becomes...

Bay County schools to continue offering free lunches to all students through next year Tony Mixon, The News Herald © MIKE FENDER / THE NEWS HERALD Students at Cedar Grove Elementary School line up for chicken and waffles on the school lunch menu Thursday, April 22, 2021. PANAMA CITY — The United States Department of Agriculture recently announced that it will extend universal free lunches through the 2021-22 school year for Bay County. But Bay District Schools officials were already prepared.  BDS and state officials have worked since Hurricane Michael hit in Octobe...

"It's ironic that we had already met with (Superintendent Bill Husfelt) and I had already talked to him about it," said Sandra Davis, deputy superintendent. "We did this a couple of months ago. We have been approved by the state if we wanted to continue it through next year." Davis said providing free meals for students in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael has been beneficial, especially since most students qualified for free or reduced meals afterward. School district officials have placed a priority on making sure all students are fed. Based on their research, they believe students' s...