~by Taylor Teays for The Scranton Journal
The Greene County Community School District has been busy preparing for the 2023-2024 school year, district wide and throughout the buildings.
“There have been many things going on at each of our buildings to prepare ourselves for the school year,” said superintendent Brett Abbotts.
The bus garage got a new roof, replacing the nearly 30-year-old previous roof and district buses were certified to pass the state bus inspection. Asbestos was removed from the old administration building in preparation for demolition within the next two to three months.
Facilities have been maintained, including mowing, trimming and tree removal, and new staff have been onboarded.
“We have nine new staff members this year and two new principals,” added Abbotts. The new staff have gone through orientation, mentoring and induction.
Greene County’s district leadership team attended training to implement framework for high accountability, trust, collaboration and learning.
The high school welcomes Karen Shannon as principal. The building saw general cleaning and maintenance, and cameras were added in parking lots and other areas of the school. Summer strength and conditioning programs were offered throughout the summer, with fall sports taking place now.
At the middle school, Cara Osborne has been hired as principal. In addition to general cleaning and maintenance, the building saw sections of the fire suppression systems updated and replaced, with updated kitchen appliances added as well. Cameras were installed in the parking lots and other areas of the school, and light fixtures in the kitchen, cafeteria and three classrooms were converted to LED, with the ceiling system replaced in those areas. New roof sections were added over the gymnasium and wrestling rooms, providing the roof with a 30-year warranty. Several areas of the school were refloored, including the teacher’s work area.
The elementary school also saw general maintenance and cleaning, and had five heat pumps replaced with high efficiency models. Several areas of the school, including classrooms and some hallway sections, were refloored. Preparations have also been in place to shift some preschool (PK) classrooms to The Children’s Center in Jefferson to allow for additional space for the school district’s Universal PK programming.
The first day of school for the district is Wednesday, Aug. 23.
