Volunteers Repaint Classrooms at Elementary School : Education: Team organized by Wells Fargo Bank provides first touch-up in 36 years. Principal lauds community involvement, laments low funds.

About 36 years after they were last painted, the classrooms of Nestle Avenue Elementary School were redone Sunday by a group of more than 100 parents and volunteers from Wells Fargo Bank.

“OK, has anyone ever painted before?” Principal Ed Catlett asked as he dispatched crews of mostly novice painters to 17 classrooms and three offices that were repainted in less than eight hours.

It had been decades since the school’s interior was redone. With the help of parents, Catlett linked up with a Wells Fargo community outreach program called Wells Team in efforts to transform the school’s faded walls.

“I could steal a car and wind up in a place with better facilities than what these children have,” Catlett said. “New walls are just one of the things Nestle needs.”

Since arriving at the school five years ago, Catlett has been on a mission to improve the deteriorating conditions despite the diminishing budget of the Los Angeles Unified School District. However, he said, the job is more difficult than he and his staff can handle.

“It’s important for the community to get involved in the schools because the schools just don’t have the resources to do it on their own,” Catlett said.

Acknowledging that neglected surroundings are common in Los Angeles classrooms, LAUSD administrator Deborah Leidner attributed problems like those at Nestle Avenue to a lack of state funding.

California schools “get half of what other states give,” Leidner said. “The money that comes in has to be used for direct instruction. When you weigh paint against books, books will always win.”

Fortuna Ippoliti, a parent who helped organize Sunday’s painting, lamented the dilemma. She pointed out makeshift supports on battered classroom desks. “The kids just can’t work and be comfortable in an atmosphere like this,” she said.

Al Casillas, a Wells Fargo employee who is studying to be an instructor for deaf children, echoed Ippoliti’s concerns. “I know I’ll be facing similar problems when I’m a teacher,” he said. “It’s something the kids need and we should take care of it now.”