GENTRY — Students, teachers, parents and friends were out sitting on the hot pavement in the high school parking lot on Monday, Aug. 29, with paint rollers and paint brushes in hand, creating a unique look for some of the parking spaces assigned to students and teachers.
Students, and teachers, were allowed for a fee to put their own design on their parking spaces for the year, and designs were appearing. From unique designs with flowers, faces, initials and more, to a brick-street design and a football field, the spaces were being painted.
The Gentry School Board, last May, gave unanimous approval to a student council proposal to allow high school students to paint a design on their assigned parking spaces for a $20 fee which would go to the student council to raise money for the next homecoming dance.
Haley Hays, along with Abby Asencio, now juniors, addressed the school board about the project last spring using a PowerPoint presentation. According to the presentation, students would be required to fill out an application to participate, submit a design plan, have parental approval and school approval. The paintings would have to be within the parking lines, and only specific acrylic water-based paint would be allowed. Only students with a current driver's license and a vehicle would be allowed to apply, and seniors would have first priority.
All the painting was to be done within a specific time frame, with no painting allowed outside that time, according to the presentation. Students would be required to buy their own approved paint and supplies.
Those without an assigned parking space would be required to park in other unpainted spaces further from the school classroom facility.
At the end of the school year, the fire department should be able to wash off the paint with high-pressure spray from a fire hose, according to the presentation.
The school board unanimously approved the plan, but Coye Cripps, board chairman, asked if a paint test could be done to see how easily the paint washes off before all the spaces are painted. That test was, apparently, a success.
The parking lot now has a unique and personalized look for many Gentry High School students and teachers and, in some cases, it seems kind of a shame to cover up the art work with a car or truck on school days.
General News on 09/07/2016