Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Troup County School Board approved the purchase of seven book vending machines at its meeting on Thursday night, hoping they’ll help inspire a love for reading.

According to supporting documents, the vending machines will come from Global Vending Group, Inc. at a cost of $46,130 and will be paid for  by L4GA funds (Literacy for Learning, Living and Leading).

According to Deana Brown, assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction, and professional learning, there are four elementary schools that already have book vending machines — Callaway, Long Cane, Hillcrest, and Hogansville Elementary.

Thursday’s approval means Berta Weathersbee Elementary, Clearview Elementary, Ethel W. Kight Elementary, Franklin Forest Elementary, Hollis Hand Elementary, Rosemont Elementary and West Point Elementary will now havex their own machines.

“What we’ve seen so far is that teachers are able to utilize rather than giving students tangible items such as candy, snacks or ice cream for good behaviors or appropriate effort in their classes, they can give them a book,” Brown said.

Brown said the hope behind the machines is for students to start to see books as a reward and that it will promote a love for reading.

“There’s something exciting about receiving a book rather than it just being in the classroom,” Brown said. “Students get to pick out something that they’re interested in, and it’s all based on because they did something well within that building.”

The machines are in a way tied in with TCSS’s positive behavior intervention system and will work as a way to make literacy a reward, Brown said.

The book vending machines use specially designed coins that will be provided to students as a reward. Examples are when a student shows perseverance, meets a goal, demonstrates good behavior and more.

“Getting a book vending machine will be an excellent way for our school to remind students that while reading is essential for academic success, it is also fun,” said Clearview Elementary School Principal Shannah Mabry.

According to Mabry, the machine at Clearview Elementary School will be filled with the most recent and popular book titles.

“With so much technology competing for our students’ attention these days, we love the idea of a new and innovative way to get books into their hands,” Mabry said.

It’s expected that the machine will need to be refilled quarterly during the school year as students earn their golden coins to use to purchase the books. Among other business conducted at the meeting, the board approved the purchases of:

• Construction for Troup High School’s baseball/softball locker room for approximately $119,000
• Approved administering ACT tests to all third-year high school students in Troup County for $38,600