Cherokee County’s schools are set to begin classes on Wednesday and when the new school year begins 38,925 students are expected in the classroom.

The Cherokee County School District is expecting 164 additional students this school year over last year’s enrollment figures.

The Cherokee County School District has 42 school campuses, including 24 elementary schools, seven middle schools, six high schools and an intermediate school, as well as an ACE academy, a head start center, a preschool center and an educational center.

The ending time of the school day will be extended by eight minutes to ensure that state instructional time requirements are met, according to a news release from Dr. Frank Petruzielo, Cherokee County school superintendent.

CCSD is the county’s largest employer, with 4,468 employees, including 2,698 certified staff.

The 2012-13 budget reflects one of the most financially challenging budget years with which the CCSD has ever had to cope, Dr. Petruzielo said in the release. Despite a $22.8 million shortfall in state and local funding for 2012-13, CCSD has retained all full-time instructional staff eligible for contract renewal, the release said.

CCSD will open its first Fine Arts Academies and its first Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, Academies at six elementary schools for 2012-13. Hasty Elementary and Oak Grove Elementary are designated fine arts locations, while Ball Ground, Canton, Clark Creek and Holly Springs elementary schools are STEM locations.

A number of schools have walk-throughs and open houses scheduled this week and students can get their class schedules and assignments at the events. A list of all open houses is available on the school’s website.

Parents can download and complete back-to-school student information forms prior to the start of the school year. These forms are posted on the CCSD website. Hard copies are provided the first week of school for those without computer access.

As a supplement to existing communication avenues for parents and employees, CCSD’S Office of Public Information launched a Facebook fan page for the school district last fall and also activated a Twitter account.

These social media outlets allow the school district additional ways to disseminate information quickly to a receptive audience, at no additional cost.

In less than a year, the Facebook page garnered more than 3,000 fans and the Twitter account has more than 500 followers.

For more information parents and students can visit the school district’s website at www.cherokee.k12.ga.us.