Springfield (KMTR) – In east Springfield, it takes a village to paint a school.In this time of budget cuts, and penny-pinching at school districts across the state, parents have banded together to give Ridgeview Elementary a facelift.
The place is about due for a couple of fresh coats of paint. Normally, the school district would face a pricey bill for the work, but a local contractor stepped forward, offering to paint the school at a deep discount.
Principal Jim Crist says paying the contractor’s price quote of $12,000 for an exterior paint job is a deal that's tough to beat. In response, parents have launched a rigorous campaign to raise the money.
PTO Chairperson Tiffany Kerns says, “I think for us at least, we recognize that the school district was cutting a lot of positions this year and this was something we could do. We could, hopefully, save money for the district, so they could use it to do things like keep teachers.”
“Yeah, if we can get it done now,” Crist says, “we can have a great school for kids to come back to and save the district some money in some hard economic times.”
A new look for Ridgeview would be the boost kids need to feel good about their neighborhood and the place where they spend much of their day.
So far, with the help of some private donations and a school “Bingo Night,” parents have raised about $5,500 for the project, but there's still a long way to go.
That's why this Friday, May 20, the parent’s organization is hosting a “McTeacher Night” from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Thurston McDonald’s Restaurant at 5701 Main Street. Ridgeview's teachers will be working behind the counter and the restaurant will donate a portion of the proceeds to the painting project. The Parents hope plenty of people will stop in for dinner and maybe make an additional donation to help them reach their goal.
