While private schools understandably tend to have all the bells and whistles, it’s pretty common for public schools to be on a tight budget. Things like art classes, sports teams, and other extracurriculars tend to get left behind and are routinely in need of a serious overhaul. Class supplies aren’t really supplied anymore and improvements made to the school can be left at the bottom of the list for years! And textbooks? They tend to fall to the wayside too, getting beaten up and written all over, becoming used up and outdated.
Finding the funding for a school project isn’t an easy task, and has forced teachers and staff to come up with some pretty crafty solutions; solutions that are good for everyone involved, much like this one.
At a public school in West Michigan, USA, superintendent David Harnish had a very forward-thinking idea that he was able to put into motion. It’s a solution that benefits the school, its students, himself and the district! It’s quite simple really, all a matter of economics, but it’s David’s intention and heartfelt motives that really make this idea fly.
The Martin Public High School was in serious need of a new coat of paint. After a bill was passed to remodel old fittings and update deteriorating classrooms, everything looked great but unfinished, and not ready to be a learning environment. A fresh new coat of paint was needed to really make the place shine!
But, to give the school that brand spanking new feeling, he would have to enlist a professional painting company to tackle the project which would cost an additional $150,000. Generating that money would have been far too time-consuming and David figured it wasn’t the best way to use the money. He had a better idea instead. “That $150,000 would’ve taken away from the kids or taken away from the potential for us taking care of our staff,” he says. It was this concept that inspired him to paint the school himself.
Putting in 90-hours a week, and getting help from senior students who just graduated from the school looking for summer work, David amassed a crew to get the job done. It took the entire summer, and a lot of manpower, but this turned out to be a win-win situation for everyone involved! “It’s neat to be able to give some of these seniors (who’ve graduated) an opportunity to do some summer work, too.”
Click below to watch how this small crew, with a big idea, made an even bigger impact!
