Repainting school would cost $150,000, principal said no and did it himself

We’ve all heard that being a teacher requires a lot of patience and dedication a thousand times before, but this one teacher shows to all of us what dedication really means.

Working at a public school, teachers often spend their own money on supplies for the students who can’t afford any. Textbooks are usually used and outdated because it’s just too expensive to buy new ones. Improvement projects are put on hold because the funding was simply not there.

But this building needs a little bit of improvement.

However, despite the tight budget and all the financial struggle, there’s always people who do their best for the school just so that the students can experience the best out of the educational institution they attend.

When voters passed down a bond that secured $18 million worth of upgrades to the school building, the Martin Public School superintendent was thrilled. Dr. David Harnish runs a school district while juggling in between his staffers’ and students’ needs.

There’s no way he would spend $150,000 just to paint the buildings.

After the remodeling was done at the high school, the entire building desperately needs a fresh coat of paint. Unfortunately, having a professional company do that would cost an additional $150,000—and there’s no way Dr. Harnish could find that in the bleak 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 was painted 18 years ago, in 2001. Determined to give a new coat to the building without wasting any more penny, Dr. Harnish came up with a solution that stunned the district parents.

He will paint the building himself!

While others are enjoying their summer, Dr. Harnish logged 90-hour weeks for the entire summer working on the district building. As it would be too overwhelming for him to do it all alone, Dr. Harnish also hired a handful of freshly graduated students to help him out.

“We could’ve maybe done a room here or there but I would’ve been retired by the time we were completely done. It’s neat to be able to give some of these seniors (who’ve graduated) an opportunity to do some summer work, too.”

Dr. Harnish believed it’s a good opportunity for some summer work too.

When the bell rang for the first day of school, Dr. Harnish was greeting everyone and hearing nothing but compliments for the school’s fresh face. He managed to meet his goals and make everything looked great just in time—making all the parents stunned.

What an incredible gesture he made for his students and the community.

Credit: Fox 17