The bill was introduced by Education chairman Chris Barnett at the request of GDOE.

Superintendent Kenneth Swanson testified that allowing for the renewal of sanitation permits over a staggered time frame would provide some breathing room for his overwhelmed maintenance department.

They could catch up on normal maintenance while continuing to repair and certify the remaining schools.

Swanson said, “I just signed off on a significant amount of overtime for the coming six weeks because our guys are working six to seven days a week to get this done. So we're not gonna back away because we do need a higher standard for our kids.”

The bill shifts the permit deadline from June 30 of each year to the school's compliance anniversary date.

Swanson had floated the idea of requiring inspection compliance every two years instead of annually, but chairman Barnett wants to stay the current course.

“It's because that's the will of the people, that's what I think we've seen expressed from all the stakeholders across the district. They don't want to go back to the laissez faire, you know status quo, they want us to keep working, they want those aircons in the classrooms, they want these improvements that should have come years ago. And I know you're in over your head but I'm just not sure when we're talking about taking shortcuts that thats thats a short cut that we should take,” said Barnett.

Public Health, which conducts the inspections, also supports the bill.