By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

When they weren’t in Springfield lobbying for school funding, administrators and staff at area schools were preparing for the first day of the 2017-18 school year.

Pontiac District 429 Superintendent Brian Dukes gives an inside look on some of the things his school did to prepare.

“Just our normal day-to-day items, as far as cleaning and waxing the floors, painting, those types of things that we do just within our own staff has been great. It’s really starting to come together. It kind of goes from a war zone in June and into July to an actual school again. The floors are really looking nice and we did a lot of painting, especially at Washington School this summer. We’re really excited for the kids to get back and see that and hopefully it brightens their day when they enter the building each and every day,” Dukes said

First day of school For Flanagan-Cornell and its elementary schools is August 15, followed by Pontiac and its feeder schools along with Woodland schools on August 17, with all of the Prairie Central Schools and Dwight Schools rounding out the group with their first day August 21.