Pinellas County Schools are back in session, but one teacher is dealing with a loss of resources in her classroom as a result of Hurricane Irma.

  • Dunedin Highland Middle used as shelter during storm
  • Teacher returned after storm to find 80 books missing
  • Books were a special collection, many signed by authors

Dunedin Highland Middle School was used as a shelter during hurricane evacuations. Reading teacher Martha Hereford-Cothron said she was thrilled to return to her classroom after the storm scare.

"I came in Monday after we were all clear to come back to school, our very first day back and I was all set to re-set my classroom so my kids could come back to their sanctuary, back to their home, their normal," she said.

When she entered the classroom, she said she was shocked to find a bookcase, normally filled with 80 books, bare.

Cothron said it was a special collection, with many of the books signed by the authors.

"No one just walks into someone's place and takes their books. My computer, locked that up. All my electronics, those were locked up too, because that's what people normally take. Maybe somebody just wanted a good read," she said.

Cothron said she doesn't know exactly who was in her classroom or how the books went missing. She doesn't know if they were stolen or misplaced. She said school personnel have searched for them and haven't found anything yet.

She posted about the incident on Facebook, and since then book donations have been pouring in.

"Students here at the school, their parents saw it on Facebook, so they had their kids go through their homes and get books that they no longer read and they started bringing them into my classroom," she said.

Her students have drawn up a "Want List" of books they're interested in and the shelves are getting restocked.

Cothron said if someone did take her books, she harbors no bad feelings.

"We hope that whoever borrowed our books are reading them and enjoying them," she said.

While the books may be gone, she said what's important is still there.

"At the end of the day, with the whole hurricane, it's just a book and we all have our lives and that's the most important thing," Cothron said.

A Pinellas County Schools spokeswoman told us the district is working with teachers to replace anything else that may be missing.