Strapped for Cash, Irrigon Teachers, Students Renovate School

Tools

Story Published: Mar 7, 2009 at 6:46 PM PST

By Rudabeh Shahbazi

IRRIGON-- A.C. Houghton Elementary School teachers, parents and students made the best of a bleak financial situation, spending their own time painting the school walls.

Morrow County School District administrators are struggling to figure out what they're going to have to cut to make up for the state's $800 million dollar deficit, and maintenance has become a low priority.

They stripped the walls, primed them and painted them, the first small steps in a renovation project they say will have a big impact on students.

"They'll like being in the school because it's clean and nice," said volunteer Dalton Schneider, who is a second grade student there. "They'll like being at school, and that will help them pay attention to teachers."

Dalton's mother, Angela, is a special education assistant at the school, and also helped paint.

"We have to take pride in the school that we work in and come to every day, and to be able to have our kids have pride in our school, they have to like it and want to come," she said.

Teachers raised $600 worth of supplies, donated by Wal Mart and Home Depot for the job.

"I think it's very tough, and I think that education should be first instead of last, but we have to deal with what we have to deal with and we do with what we get dealt," said Angela Dalton.

Schools across Oregon have been forced to cut jobs, sports and student activities to save money, and maintenance has fallen to the bottom of the list.

The walls at A.C. Houghton hadn't been painted in a decade.

"All of this volunteer effort and donations from the community are going into making things look better and brighter in what are some pretty bleak financial circumstances," said Principal John Sebastian.

Students will also have a hand in the project. Children from each grade level will paint a mural of what they take pride in at their school, turning a lesson of necessity into a colorful work of art.

Current Weather

Current Temp 50.0 °F

Partly Cloudy

Watch the story

More Weather

Current Weather

More Weather

Upload directly from your mobile device.

Learn how

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.