Central Admin building to be named after custodian Arnold

The Central Administration Office will be named after longtime custodian Joe Arnold following a unanimous vote by the Hot Springs County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees last Tuesday, July 18.

During the meeting, Superintendent Dustin Hunt asked for an exemption to the board policy that requires someone to have been gone from the district for five years before being able to have a facility named after them.

“In January he will have 60 years in the Wyoming Retirement System with no plans to retire,” Hunt said.

He said Arnold demonstrated so many qualities worthy of the honor of having a facility named after him.

“He looks at the job to be completed, not the time clock,” Hunt said, noting once after surgery for hammer toe he was shoveling snow at 3:30 a.m. with a bag over this foot.

He routinely shovels pathways to employees’ cars when needed and Hunt said he has seen him scrub carpet spots with a toothbrush. During events in the auditorium he positions himself at the elevator side to assist the elderly using the elevator and he is at every cookie jar auction to assist cancer victims.

“His contributions to education go beyond shiny buildings. Children look up to him as a hero and mentor,” Hunt said, adding, “His efforts stretch well beyond the scope of his job. While his title is custodian, he has been teaching students and adults for years.”

Hunt said that Arnold is as “humble as people come.”

He said, “Joe is beautiful example of making significant contributions to education, children and community. Interaction with children is what we would desire of any employee.”

Hunt’s proposal, with the Auditorium already named the William H. Malloy Auditorium is to change the sign on the building to the Joe Arnold Central Administration Building and William H. Malloy Auditorium.

In an interview last week, Hunt said, “Joe refers to his job as, ‘it’s not work, this is just my building.’” The HSCSD #1 Trustees made that official at the July meeting.

In addition to Arnold, Hunt also recognized the hard work of the janitorial staff at the July 18 meeting.

In last week’s interview, Hunt said, “It was my distinct privilege to honor the work of our custodial and maintenance team at our July board meeting. We believe that every employee in the District contributes to the education of our students. Our maintenance/custodial team has willingly and enthusiastically gone above and beyond the call of duty this summer at my request. A recent custodial audit earned the praise from the Bruco cleaning consultant, “These are the cleanest buildings I have ever seen.”

TEACHERAGE

Hunt told the board that the staff this year has been asked to do a lot more than the regular summer maintenance schedule they are doing.

Part of those extra duties is building a teacherage on existing district property, utilizing federal COVID relief dollars that must be dedicated to facilities.

“In this national crisis of a teacher shortage we must remove barriers to hiring new staff. Housing costs and availability have only grown as a challenge in Thermopolis following the pandemic, and the teacherage will serve as a landing place should teachers/staff need housing for up to three years. This will give them time to plan for long term investment in our community, and buy a home as one becomes available,” Hunt said in an interview.

He added, “One of the most exciting parts of building a teacherage with multiple units is that as high school students return in the fall for our trades classes, they will get the opportunity to add to the teacherage legacy by helping perform some of the work during their classes. They will be able to apply their knowledge of trades to a real community project under the direction of their teacher Brit Van Heule and maintenance director Jared Jeffs.”

Other projects the maintenance team has undertaken are:

Added a new daycare playground.

Removing and repouring concrete entrance at Ralph Witters Elementary.

Planted and trim trees at all buildings.

Grinding frost heaves in the sidewalks.

Special education bathroom addition in the middle school.

Added a kitchen to the ag classroom.

Re-keyed all district locks for the security upgrade.

Added security doors to the high school.

Painting/flooring.

Upgraded the gym floor and added school spirit commons wraps and a new hall of fame.

Resurface gym floor with new murals and graphics.