Tuscaloosa Parking Ticket Initiative Nets Over 700 School Supplies

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The City of Tuscaloosa on Wednesday announced it had collected over 700 items and presented a donation of school supplies to Tuscaloosa City Schools during its regular City Council meeting on Tuesday.

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The supplies were collected through council initiative that allowed city residents to pay off $18 overtime parking tickets with school supplies valued at $10 each.

“I’m proud that the city is able to host this annual drive to provide extra support for our city schools students," Mayor Walt Maddox said. "Instead of people paying a fine that they may owe to our Municipal Court, they can make their payment in school supplies that go to young people in our community who need it.”

The drive ran from July through August, resulting in the City of Tuscaloosa dismissing 241 parking tickets.

In total, residents contributed 775 items, including 41 backpacks and seven lunchboxes.

This year’s collection represented a significant increase over last year's totals.

“We’re proud to share that this is a significant increase from last year’s numbers, and thankful to all those in the community who participated,” Tuscaloosa Municipal Court Administrator Jessica Steward said.

The city says the donated supplies will be distributed to local students in need by Tuscaloosa City Schools. This marks the fifth year the City has organized the drive.

“Thank you for doing something creative and continuing to grow it bigger for our city and our kids," Focus Zone Community Resource Manager Kalissa Bormann said. "We will get these handed out to the kids in all the schools that have needs.”

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