This School District’s Superintendent Traveled 420 Miles and 6 Hours in a Pick-Up Truck With an Attached Flatbed Trailer For…What???
A notification went out from the State and Federal Surplus in Jefferson City, MO that caught the attention of this school district. Jill LeCompte, Bright Futures Cassville Coordinator, said, “{These} updates usually provide updates on surplus property such as furniture and equipment.” In this case, the update was notifying recipients about pallets of food available.
According to the Cassville R-IV School District website, the district secured “…six pallets of non-perishable food items for a reduced rate from the State and Federal Surplus in Jefferson City.” Two of which were donated to local churches totaling over 1,700 meals. Both Churches help the community with basic food needs, both having food pantries.
We understand that the Superintendent of the District, Dr. Richard Asbill, personally drove to pick up the pallets, which were over 420 miles away. As if the distance of the trip wasn’t enough, he drove a pick-up truck with a flatbed trailer attached.
The District’s article quoted Kristie Preddy, Guidance Counselor at Eunice Thomas Elementary, “He sacrificed his personal time to ensure our students have food to eat on the weekends. It says a lot about our district when the leadership is concerned about the well-being of our students and not just test scores.”
When the notification came in for the food pallets, LeCompte reported that Asbill, “…checked with our Back-pack Program Coordinator, Elementary, and Intermediate Principals to determine a need and then decided it would be a good opportunity for our students and went.”
The Cassville school district currently sends home 90 backpacks a week. LeCompte estimates that the four pallets that stayed with the district will last the remainder of the school year as they mix the items in with other food donations.
For more about this project, click here.