MORGAN CITY — St. Mary Parish Schools is starting the new school year on Wednesday with a continued focus on student safety, as well as continuing to introduce innovations to help the parish's 7,300 students.

Superintendent Buffy Fegenbush said that the school district is prioritizing the safety of its students, continuing work started last year with a clear bag policy for sporting and other extracurricular events. 

This year, St. Mary Parish Schools are receiving a $1 million safety grant from the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to be used on open-gate walk-through metal detectors for sporting events and school functions.

"We can never be too covered in safety," she said. "We're just gonna keep pushing forward in that area."

Teachers and parents can expect a smooth transition into the new school year, with all bus routes being covered following a third-party review of their transportation infrastructure to determine the efficiency of the system.

The school system is also creating new positions that are new to the parish, including a chief academic officer.

Like many Louisiana schools, the question of what St. Mary Parish will do about the recently passed law that requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in public classrooms has been at the front of Fegenbush's mind.

"We're waiting to see what happens in the court system," she said.