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Superintendent Works 90 Hr Weeks During The Summer For Reason That Staff Can’t Ignore

There is a fact about public schools that most people are aware of. It has to do with the budget, and in many cases, it’s the fact that the budget can be stretched rather thin. Even though they are responsible for shaping the lives of our children and grandchildren, it seems as if they have to do so on a shoestring and that can be quite difficult.

Teachers often feel the brunt of the budget issues in the school system. They don’t get paid much for their efforts and on top of that, they end up purchasing school supplies for the classroom out of their own pocket. Even the textbooks that are used by children are outdated because they are expensive. Any type of improvements to the buildings and the school system are often put on hold because of budget cuts and limited funding.

Dr. David Harnish is aware of these factors more than most people. He is the superintendent of the Martin public schools and was thrilled when a bond was provided to the school for $18 million. It was to be used for upgrades to the building.

The remodeling took place in the early summer but after it was done, Dr. Harnish noticed that there was something missing. The entire building needed a fresh coat of paint.

When they looked into having a professional company paint the school building, a bid for $150,000 was returned. Quite simply, it just didn’t fit into the budget.

“That $150,000 would’ve taken away from the kids or taken away from the potential for us taking care of our staff.”

The building classrooms had not been painted since 2001. That is when Dr. Harnish came up with a brilliant solution. In the end, it worked quite well but it was a shocker to the parents and the school district.

His solution was to paint the building himself.

Many people were enjoying vacations that summer but Dr. Harnish was putting in 90 hour work weeks on the district buildings. It was the only way for him to ensure they were painted and to stay within the budget.

“We could’ve maybe done a room here or there but I would’ve been retired by the time we were completely done.”

Some newly graduated students were also hired to help. They were a small crew, but they were determined to have the buildings ready by the time the school opened in the fall.

“It’s neat to be able to give some of these seniors (who’ve graduated) an opportunity to do some summer work, too.”

When the school doors opened for the new school year, Dr. Harnish was there to greet everyone. He was hearing a lot of compliments and the parents were stunned.

He met his goal and the school looked fantastic. You can see more about what he did in this video:

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