Keota Schools will be seeing an aesthetic improvement next fall.

The Keota Eagle Advocates are transforming the cafeteria area for the elementary and secondary schools. What currently is seen as a drab, uninspiring area with long gray tables and benches will be changed to a café theme, according to Advocates president Sheila Horras. They will be replacing the bench-style tables with ones of varying shapes and sizes and booths, making cosmetic changes such as painting the walls, changing the kitchen service window, and purchasing hot and cold serving tables. Horras says providing a colorful and pleasant environment will hopefully improve students’ attitudes and appetites, “It’s also going to be a lot more comfortable environment for them because the current tables actually are not manufactured anymore because they are a safety hazard, and so we certainly want to eliminate them for that reason. But the other reason is they’re very difficult for anyone with any kind of a physical limitation to get into, so hopefully it will be more accomodating for those with physical limitations.”

These improvements will serve the school in a multitude of ways as the cafeteria is directly adjacent to the gymnasium and is used for school activities. Horras says all the funds have been acquired for the estimated $40,000 project, including a Washington County Riverboat Foundation grant of $25,000. The renovation is expected to be completed this fall.