PEDRO -- Send help. That was the comment one Rock Hill School District maintenance man made at this week's school board meeting.

Sam Matkins told the board that he wants to see the new, larger school buildings stay as neat and attractive as they are now, but it will take adding more people to the payroll to accomplish this.

"We've got the best schools in Southern Ohio," Matkins said. "But we don't have enough people to keep them looking this way. We need twice as many people. The cooks don't have enough help, either."

"I worked in this system 14 years and I never heard tell of the cooks having to clean the kitchen," board member Wanda Jenkins said. "I do know the middle school is one janitor short and one cook short."

Superintendent Lloyd Evans said right now the district has 14 custodians and 12 cooks total for its new high school, renovated middle school and new consolidated elementary school that took the place of four old ones.

"We're not going to leave you hanging," Board President Jackie Harris told Matkins. "These issues are being addressed, and I'd like to commend the staff for the way they've busted their butts to get these buildings ready."

The board has a special meeting scheduled for Thursday evening to discuss personnel and insurance. The Ironton Tribune/Teresa Moore/The Ironton Tribune