Spooky payback for Moscow principal
Marianne Sletteland must spend Halloween night in a ‘haunted’ school, thanks to her kids’ money-raising
They say the nearly century-old J. Russell Elementary building is haunted by the ghost of its namesake, John Russell.
On Halloween night, Principal Marianne Sletteland may find out for herself.
She made a deal with her students: If they meet their annual fundraising goal to benefit school activities, she will spend Halloween night inside the oldest Moscow school building.
Russell and West Park Elementary students participated in the Otis Spunkmeyer fundraiser to sell cookie dough and other baked goods to the community. The fundraiser is organized by the schools’ Parent Action Teams. Sletteland said their goal was to raise $2,700. They have since raised more than $5,000.
“I don’t even know how, but they’ve blown it completely out of the water,” Sletteland said about the students’ efforts.
Money from the fundraiser will go toward $1,000 in grants for teachers, as well as funding school activities like field trips, pizza parties and the back-to-school swim night.
It also means Sletteland will have to keep her promise to her 147 students and spend a night in the halls of Latah County’s oldest school on the spookiest night of the year.
“Some people say our building is haunted,” she said. “We always tease how we have the ghost of John Russell in our building.”
This was confirmed by fifth-graders Khalid Aboubacar, Grayson Bailey and Cristian Blanco. They have noticed weird noises, flickering lights, doors closing on their own and random toilet flushes as signs that a ghost may be roaming the school.
Bailey wants the principal to raise the stakes and lock herself in the school until morning. Aboubacar said he wants her to complete a dare, like stacking the desks on top of each other.
Russell Elementary has been in Moscow since 1889, but the existing building was built in 1927. It is the oldest school in Latah County, Sletteland said.
On Halloween night, Sletteland will bring an air mattress and a couple lanterns loaned to her by another staff member. She plans to post photos and videos to share her experience with the students.
“It’s been fun to see them get excited about it,” she said.
Kuipers can be reached akuipers@dnews.com.
