Don’t look now, but summer is just about over.

The packets that Cranston families recently received in the mail detailed as much, containing information on free and reduced lunch, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and more. School begins for the 10,678 students in Cranston on Tuesday, Sept. 5

Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse said that all of those summer construction projects throughout the district have come to a close as well. As noted in an Aug. 9 story in the Herald, various schools underwent upgrades ranging from new fire alarm systems at Dutemple and Chester Barrows to installing a new sound system at Western Hills.

“We’re just wrapping up,” Nota-Masse told the Herald on Monday. “[Doing] clean-up at schools that did have construction. We will address the aesthetics of lawn care this week but our primary goals were to make sure the buildings’ interiors were ready for kids and teachers to come back.”

One day after the Herald’s last conversation with the Superintendent was published on Aug. 2, the state’s $9.2 billion budget was finally approved after a month-long impasse.

That was welcomed news to Nota-Masse, as Cranston was in line to lose $3 million in state funding if the stalemate were to persist.

“We were in stable condition when it was going on, but now it’s just a much better outlook going forward because we have the monies that were predicted to come to us,” Nota-Masse said. “I’m just glad that’s in the rearview mirror.”

With that funding from the state in hand, Nota-Masse is ready to return to action next Tuesday on the first day of school. However, not all students may be as raring to go.

For those who aren’t eager to re-emerge into the hallways, Nota-Masse offered some advice: Start preparing early so your body gets used to it.

“I would start a few days to a week ahead kind of following a school schedule,” Nota-Masse offered. “Going to bed and getting up during the time that you would be expected to for school. Other than that, I think once kids get to school and they see their friends, they get into a routine. It takes a few days to adjust, but I think once everyone gets back they fall into the old routine pretty well.”

Ready the fleet

Head of Transportation Vincent McAteer was also present at Monday’s interview, and he said that the city’s fleet of 85 to 90 buses would be ready to roll for next week.

He said buses are in “good shape” and get inspected by the state twice a year. McAteer said he has already received at least one positive note from a driver set to start.

“I got an email from a bus driver [Monday] saying she just cleaned out the inside of her bus, washed it down and she’s very satisfied with the outcome,” McAteer said.

There was a push during the summer to bring in bus monitors. Monitors cover large bus runs, while aides are assigned small bus runs because of their certified training to deal with challenged students. Both are stocked and just about every bus run has someone to keep track of the kids.

“We had a recruitment drive for monitors and we got an excellent response,” McAteer said. “We have virtually all the bus runs filled now. We have three or four monitors going through the last part of the hiring process and will initiate their training in the latter part of this week so they can handle the responsibilities on the bus.”

McAteer said there should be a similar initiative to bring in bus drivers in the near future. While he said the district has enough drivers to handle potential sick days or leaves, he will have to replace drivers who have left or have plans to depart.

“We would like to recruit new drivers, so you’re probably going to see something in social media, maybe something in the media on recruitment of new drivers,” McAteer said. “There’ll be a banner across Park Avenue at some point for that recruiting. By and large, things are going well.”

Changing of the guard

There will be some changes coming to the administration, but just not right now.

Chief Operating Officer Ray Votto will be retiring in two years, and Park View Principal Mike Crudele has been chosen to fill his post.

That sets off a two-year timeline that, barring official approval from the school committee, installs Crudele as the new COO and, in 2018, Cranston West Assistant Principal Cheryl Anderson as the new Park View principal.

Nota-Masse said that Crudele would start working alongside Votto this coming year in what is essentially an internship role to learn the ropes of the position. At the same time, Crudele will help Anderson adjust to her future job at Park View.

Next year, Crudele would be working with Votto on a day-to-day basis as he readies to take over full-time in July 2019.

Nota-Masse added that Crudele is going to have little free time next year, but spoke effusively about why he was the right pick.

“Years of experience in Cranston, years of experience as a teacher, an administrator, a parent, a coach in the district, really understanding our protocol, our processes,” Nota-Masse gave as reasons for why Crudele was chosen. “Having a really full scope of understanding of transportation and how that impacts buildings and students. Curriculum, staffing, everything down to the health care things that we offer. It was critically important that we had somebody from Cranston who was able to assume the reins.”

Nota-Masse also noted that Crudele had the personality and leadership qualities that she sought for the position.

“He’s able to handle highly sensitive topics that may relate to personnel and people, as well as being able to execute our policies and things in a responsible way,” she said. “That’s a very unique skill set to be able to do both, and have people respect you for what you do and you respect people for what they do for the district.”