by Larry Chowning –
Summertime work by Middlesex County Public Schools (MCPS) includes paving and repainting of parking lot lines at the three county school facilities.
Workers are currently paving the gravel portion of the parking lots at St. Clare Walker Middle School (SCW) in Locust Hill and will move on to Middlesex Elementary School (MES) just across the road in the coming days.
Back in March, the Middlesex County School Board (MCSB) voted to spend $185,000 of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) federal COVID-19 funds to pave the gravel and grass parking lots at SCW and MES and repaint the parking lot lines at Middlesex High School at Saluda.
ESSER funds are federal COVID-19 aid funds for K-12 schools designed to support and reengage students following disruptive or traumatic events like the COVID-19 pandemic.
School Superintendent Dr. Tracy Seitz said that during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic most parents drove and picked up their children at the schools. This caused backups and use of parking areas set aside for occasional parking and light traffic. The overflow parking lot at SCW was a 30-year-old graveled lot and the MES overflow area is grass and dirt.
Seitz said that the parking lots are an area related to engaging students, getting them into the schools safely and in a timely manner and during the pandemic that was a critical need. As part of the plan, the MES dirt lot will be paved and white lines on the Middlesex High School parking lot will be repainted.
