Easton school
raising money for new cafeteria tables
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
EASTON — The Easton school community is raising funds to purchase new cafeteria tables at Easton Elementary School.
According to principal Wendi Malenfant, the school currently uses “old, regular tables with folding chairs.” The existing tables are used by both the elementary and middle/high school students.
“It’s quite a job for the custodians to pick up every chair every day to clean under them,” she said. “The town uses the school a lot … the senior citizens, in particular, and I think the bench seats will be better.
“We’re looking at the ones that only have two seats to a bench so you can get in on each side, so there won’t be the trouble of having to get your legs up, in and under like some cafeteria tables that just have one long bench for the whole table,” said Malenfant. “They’re easier to get in and out of … especially for the little ones who have to pull out a chair, balance their tray and get seated.”
The tables cost between $1,200-$1,500 each.
“We need eight tables,” she said, “so we’re looking to raise between $10,000-$12,000. We’ve had some efforts toward that already. We received a $500 donation from KeyBank, $40 in personal donations, and the Easton Parent Community Organization is currently raising money through a penny drive and other ways, as well.”
Ruby Tuesday also partnered with the school through their Community GiveBack Program. From March 6-8, Ruby Tuesday donated 20 percent of a customer’s purchase provided patrons returned a GiveBack flyer to their server. Malenfant said they will find out in a few more weeks how much was raised through the GiveBack program.
The administrator said the new tables will be the ones that fold up.
“They fold up and they’re on wheels,” she said, “so the custodians will be able to fold them up in the middle, sweep and mop all around them, and then return them to their normal position.
“It will also be nice aesthetically because we’ll get some bench seats that have nice colors,” said Malenfant. “Hopefully we’ll get some ‘Easton blue’ or primary colors as opposed to just plain colors. It will add a lot to our cafeteria.”
School leaders have talked about replacing the tables and chairs for a while now.
“Last year we really wanted to do something, but the high school needed new lockers. The lockers weren’t functioning well and couldn’t be locked, so that became a top priority. There’s nothing wrong with what we have now; it’s just not the best use of space or as convenient as it could be.”
Malenfant said she expects it will take a couple of years to raise the needed money to purchase the new cafeteria tables.
“What makes it nice is that the community will be able to benefit from this project, as well,” she said. “The school is the hub of the community, and I think the residents will appreciate not having to manage the folding chairs and be able to get in and out hands-free.”
For more information or to donate to the project, contact Malenfant at 488-7701.
