The City of Tuscaloosa reported at its Tuesday city council meeting that it received hundreds of donations of school supplies through its annual parking ticket supply drive.
Starting on July 15 and extending until Aug. 9, Tuscaloosa wiped thousands of dollars worth of parking tickets in exchange for supply donations for Tuscaloosa City Schools.
“This is a program that we began a couple of years ago, where instead of paying a fine that they may owe to the municipal court, they [Tuscaloosans] can make their payment in school supplies that would go to our young people in the community that need it,” Mayor Walt Maddox said.
Within the allotted time frame, offenders could offset their withstanding $18 overtime parking violation in exchange for a $10 contribution of supplies like pencils, notebooks and binders.
In the council meeting’s opening statement, Maddox pointed out the wide assortment of donated school supplies that were arranged on one side of the Council Chambers of City Hall.
Following this opening statement, Municipal Court Administrator Jessica Stewart briefly reported the tally of items the schools received, before introducing Focus Zone Community Resource Manager Kalissa Bormann.
According to Stewart, the effort garnered nearly 775 total items — the most donations that the city has received in three years — and canceled 241 parking tickets.
“On behalf of Dr. [Mike] Daria, the entire school board and all the members of the Tuscaloosa City School system, I want to say thank you,” Bormann said. Daria is the superintendent of Tuscaloosa City Schools.
Bormann also said that children who are low on supplies — whether it be utensils, paper, etc — may meet with their social worker or counselor at any time to promptly resolve the issue by assessing each particular student’s needs.
The city council plans to pick back up this effort next year in a similar fashion, hoping to top the contributions reached with this year’s fifth annual drive.
Future donors may bring their supplies to Tuscaloosa Municipal Court when the program officially reopens, and any questions regarding the program can be addressed at that time by dialing 311.
