Good afternoon!  

School starts in Liberty County on Tuesday, August 12th.  We can't wait to have your children coming back on campus.  Here are a few items in preparation for the start of the 25-26 School Year:

1.  You may remember that last year, Florida offered an additional back-to-school sales tax holiday in January. That holiday won't return for 2026.  Instead, the summer back-to-school sales tax holiday in Florida has been made permanent. Lawmakers also expanded the tax-free shopping period to cover an entire month each year: from August 1st through August 31st.  You will no longer need to squeeze your shopping into a single week or weekend. But, per usual, tax savings extend to a range of items.  This includes clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less per item, school supplies at $50 or less each, learning aids and puzzles at up to $30, and personal computers for non-business use at up to $1,500.  

2.  You are going to love this next one...all our school forms (with the exception of the health form) will be done ONLINE through FOCUS.  If you don't have a FOCUS account, please reach out to your child's school to get one.  Also, during all the school's open house events, there will be assistance with the FOCUS portal.  This will be new for our district, but this should eliminate the excessive paperwork that accompanies the beginning of each school year.  We do ask for your patience as we navigate this new feature together.

3.  Open Houses:    LCHS - Thursday, August 7, 4:30pm-6pm                                                                                                              Tolar - Thursday, August 7, 5pm-7pm                                                                                                                      Hosford - Friday, August 8, 4:30pm-6pm                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I'll be in touch with some more items closer to school starting.

Go Panthers and Go Bulldogs!

Sincerely,

Kyle Peddie, Liberty County Superintendent of Schools