All school board members were present at the Sept. 8 meeting.

All school board members were present at the Sept. 8 meeting.

Petersburg School District administrators say the year has gotten off to a smooth start. That was the message they shared at the first school board meeting of the season.

Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said all the preparation before the first day of school has paid off.

“It really was uneventful in that sense. I mean, it was pretty incredible,” Kludt-Painter said. “A lot of hard work was going on by all teachers and staff and principals and it was pretty incredible work ethic going on there and I think it made for a great start.”

Kludt-Painter noted there were no big maintenance problems. Terri Toland, Principal of the Stedman Elementary School, also recognized that.

“A big thank you to our maintenance crew because our school looks fabulous,” Toland said. “You walk in there and things were ready to go right on the first day so it’s been a good start to a great year.”

The elementary school has been under renovation for since the Spring of 2014 and the last of those projects are being finished up. That includes a new ramp for people with disabilities underneath the covered entrance of the kindergarten area.

Dan Tate is the Maintenance Director for the district.

“We’re really excited to see that go into service, they just finished it,” Tate said. “And then all we’re waiting for is some parts and we’re going to put in some door openers here in the next month. So, we’re really coming close to an end to this project but we’re getting some nice things at the end of it.”

Rick Dormer is the High School Principal. He says the before-school routine is getting smoother.

“It feels like it gets honed every year and gets better and better,” Dormer said. “If anything I think the presentation gets parred even down a little bit more to the essentials and I think that’s really key and the parents are asking better questions and we’re just getting a better culture. You know, people are getting used to the way things are and what we have and appreciate it maybe even more than they have. So, it’s great, it’s a good process. And then just the training of staff and then getting certified and classified together for a while which has really been great so all of it’s great and it seemed very smooth.”

The school year started for students on August 31.