The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries awarded four Richmond County School System libraries with $20,000 in grants for the 2026-2027 school year.
Tobacco Road Elementary School, Richmond Hill Elementary School, W.S. Hornsby Elementary School and Lucy C. Laney Comprehensive High School were among the 220 schools selected nationally. Each school receives $5,000 to modernize their campus print catalogs, according to a news release.
“It’s truly an honor to receive this grant and be represented on the national stage,” said Susan Scarmoutzos, media specialist at W.S. Hornsby Elementary. “With these grant funds, our main goal is to strengthen our library collection, and to align the extra material we have in our libraries with the curriculum being taught.”
To receive the grant, each school had to demonstrate acute financial need and submit a comprehensive, data-driven application detailing a clear plan to expand and diversify its book collections.
Housed by the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries supports school libraries across the country that have the greatest financial needs. Since its inception in 2002, the foundation has awarded $24 million to more than 4,200 schools nationwide, distributing over $1 million in total funding during the 2026 grant cycle alone.
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