HEATH, Texas — Last week’s school assembly at Amy Parks-Heath Elementary was not a surprise, but the reason the entire school was even gathered together was shocking.
“We found out Mr. Lucino had run into a little bit of trouble,” a voice echoed over the loudspeaker.
School custodian Lucino Perez is beloved. He’s worked at the school for four years and, in that time, built a remarkable bond with the students.
“He brings like a lot of kindness and makes everybody happy,” said second-grader Kennedy Pence.
“He’s nice and does his job very good,” sixth-grader Landry Harrelson added.
Students say Mr. Lucino, as they like to call him, has never missed so much as a crumb. That’s why he was caught completely off guard when the principal called him to a meeting and came clean.
“I went home and told my family,” Perez said. “They were shocked and couldn’t believe it.”
Word got around that Mr. Lucino’s car was recently stolen and totaled. He’d been relying on family to get to work, which just wasn’t sustainable. He needed a car, but just couldn’t afford one.
When students and parents found out what had happened they started a fundraising campaign, hoping to collect $5,000 toward a new car.
The principal called that meeting to tell Mr. Lucino how much they’d raised: $21,000 in just a matter of days, more than enough to buy him a car.
They gave him the keys during last week’s assembly. He was so overwhelmed he was driven to tears.
Mr. Lucino doesn’t speak much English but found the words to express his gratitude.
“Happy, happy, happy,” he told those in attendance. “I’m very happy here and I feel like I’m family.”
“It meant so much to me because he helps the school a lot,” Pence said.
“All the teachers were crying and like everyone was and was happy,” said Harrelson.
Sounds like the janitor wasn’t the only one all swept up.