COVID-19 left students, teachers, parents, and many others sitting in their houses racking their brains for something to do. However, while students are at home, who is taking care of our school? The custodians and cafeteria staff work behind the scenes year round to make school possible.

Before most of us are out of bed, Head Custodian, Mr. Brad Ross and the rest of the custodial staff go in to take care of needed repairs and cleaning. “I get up at 6 am and go into work for 7 am. On a normal day we do maintenance and cleaning of the facilities,” said Ross. 

However the custodial staff is not the only staff coming into school during this pandemic. The cafeteria staff is going into school to prepare a nutritious breakfast and lunch for as many students as they can. “My day normally started at 8:00 am while we were in school and it continues to start at 8:00 am since we have altered the days to serve meals while off, due to the pandemic,” said Food Service Director Ms. Lisa Eckley. 

Under normal circumstances, the custodial staff starts working on summer maintenance when the school year is officially over. “When I got word that the school year was done we started doing summer maintenance and continue to do summer maintenance,” said Ross. 

The cafeteria staff has been preparing and packaging lunches for students during this frantic time. “The Cafeteria staff are all helping prepare, package and bag grab and go lunches. Then we get them ready to be sent to four different pick up sites,” said Eckley.

With the extra time from the pandemic, Ross is hopeful to complete summer maintenance in a timely and efficient manner. “My goal is to complete much needed repairs since we have extra time. With not having summer help for the last 4 years it’s hard to get everything done,” said Ross. 

Along with Mr. Ross, Lisa Eckley is Setting goals for the next school year. “Our main goal is to get the students back in school and start preparing the breakfast and lunch meals the way the students normally receive them,” said Eckley