I hope everyone is having an enjoyable and safe summer.
All summer long, Liberty-Benton hallways, gyms and auditoriums echo with the sounds of arts and athletic camps and activities. School may be out for the summer, but our buildings are still bustling with activity. Summer also presents an opportune time for the completion of projects throughout our grounds and facilities.
Safety is a top priority for us at Liberty-Benton; therefore, we undertake routine safety inspections of our equipment and facilities. For example, we inspect the entire bus fleet, our playground equipment and our fire suppression system. This summer we will also begin installing a Bolo Stick on doors all of our school buildings. This security device, which has been thoroughly tested by police teams to withstand unwanted entry, would be used in the event students or staff would need to lock down/shelter in place in an emergency situation and provides an additional layer of security for our students and staff above and beyond traditional door locks. Staff members will receive training on how to deploy the device at the beginning of the school year. Funding for the project is being offset by the Hancock County Crime Prevention Association and local donations, and we are grateful for the support.
There is also a lot of routine maintenance that has to happen behind the scenes to get ready for another school year. Our maintenance and custodial staff spend countless summer hours waxing, buffing, watering, scrubbing, mopping, tree trimming, mulching, painting, field striping, mowing, fertilizing, spraying and cleaning each building inside and out. You can imagine the job cut out for them after a year of student and staff activity in the buildings! They do an extraordinary job.
This summer we had some much-needed work done on the roofing at the high school to correct some water infiltration issues we were having between the roof line and the upper wall of the southeast wall of the gymnasium. To solve the problem, exterior metal sheeting was installed, which provided both a functional and aesthetically-pleasing solution to the problem. The project was financed through the district's permanent improvement fund and has helped increase the quality of the building itself, making our high school an even safer structure and free of leaks!
I must also thank the building administrative assistants as well as the staff in the board office for their work throughout the summer. They work diligently throughout June, July and August to ensure we can open our doors on the first day of school. Without them, I honestly do not think we would be able to begin a new school year.
So, although the summer might not be quite as busy as the school year for some, for others, it is an opportunity to complete many tasks on the ever-growing to-do lists we all keep. Regardless of how you are spending your summer months, though, I hope you are gearing up for another great school year with Liberty-Benton. Enjoy the rest of your summer and see you on September 3!