Franklin County, News, PICTURE FLIPPER
 By  Kellie Singleton Published 
6:04 am Saturday, October 13, 2012

Principal sleeps on roof

East Franklin Junior High School principal Scott Wiginton spent Tuesday night on top of the school to keep a promise he made to students.

EAST FRANKLIN – After Tuesday night, no one will be able to say that East Franklin Junior High School Principal Scott Wiginton is not a man of his word.
Wiginton, who is in his third year as principal at EFJS, has made it a point to give his students an incentive to sell tickets to their annual Fall Festival fundraiser each year.
Last year, to make the fundraising efforts more fun, he told students that he would shave his head if they sold a certain number of tickets.
When the students came through and they exceeded their goal, some were surprised when Wiginton actually sat down in a chair and let a few students shave his head completely bald, much to the delight of the rest of the student body.
But this year, Wiginton went for an incentive that was a little more dramatic than shaving his head.
“I told the students if they sold 6,000 tickets to this year’s Fall Festival, I would sleep on top of the school for one whole night,” Wiginton said.
“I had heard of other people, radio personalities, doing things similar to this to help raise money for various causes and I thought it would be a good idea and something the kids would enjoy.
“Even though I went through with shaving my head last year, I still think it was hard for some of the students to believe I would actually sleep on top of the school, so it really seemed to get them motivated – just to see if I would really do it.”
The EFJH Fall Festival was held last week, and Wiginton said the students were still a few hundred tickets shy of meeting their goal when the morning of the festival rolled around.
“I kept telling them there was no way they would sell enough tickets to make me sleep on the roof,” Wiginton said, “but they proved me wrong.
“By that evening, they had sold above and beyond the 6,000-ticket goal.”
True to his word, Wiginton donned a tent, sleeping bag, air mattress and camp chair and made his way onto the roof of the school just before 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday so the students could see him on top of the school before they left for the day.
Wiginton returned later that evening and made his camp atop the roof, where he stayed until after 7 a.m. the next morning when students started arriving to school.
“This was just a way for me to get the students excited about raising money for our school,” he said. “It didn’t cost a dime for me to sleep on the roof, but it was fun for them and helped us meet our fundraising goal.”
Wiginton said the annual Fall Festival is the largest fundraiser the school has all year.
“We really depend on the money we bring in during this event,” Wiginton said.
“It helps us with the function and upkeep of the school throughout the entire fiscal year and basically keeps us afloat until next October.
“If we didn’t have the money from the festival, we’d probably be in pretty bad shape a lot of the time, so that’s why I try to push the kids to sell as much as they can.
“If they know I’m going to do something funny or silly or off-the-wall if they meet their goal, they’re more likely to get those tickets sold.
“So far I’ve kept my word every time. I don’t know what next year’s incentive will be, but you can bet that whatever it is, I’ll go through with it if the students come through for the school.”

Also on Franklin County Times
$4M paving project nears completion
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Russ Corey For the FCT 
October 1, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — The city is in the process of completing what is likely its largest ever street paving project. District 1 City Councilman David Palmer...
Barnes kicks off bid for Congress
Main, News
Russ Corey For the FCT 
October 1, 2025
SHEFFIELD — Colbert County Commissioner Tommy Barnes is ready to travel the Fourth Congressional District in hopes of convincing voters he’s the perso...
Cancer survivor Vaughn: Celebrate every day!
Main, News, Z - News Main
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 1, 2025
Elaine Vaughn’s breast cancer journey began 11 years ago. Her longtime OB-GYN had retired, so she had put off her yearly exam and mammogram for a coup...
Mansell rescinds retirement request
Main, News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 1, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Fire Chief Joe Mansell will remain at the helm of the Russellville Fire Department. Mansell, who has led the department since 2002, was...
Study links well-being of teachers with AI use
Columnists, Opinion
October 1, 2025
As a new school year begins, the attention of parents, policymakers, and the public rightly turns to students. But if we are serious about improving s...
Hubbard reflects as she retires from courthouse
News, Red Bay
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 1, 2025
RED BAY — Lifelong Red Bay resident Sherri Hubbard has spent the past 24 years serving Franklin County as a courthouse deputy. Before joining the cour...
Holt named the acting director of NACOLG
News
Russ Corey For the FCT 
October 1, 2025
MUSCLE SHOALS — Transportation Planning Director Joseph Holt has been named the acting director of the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments....

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *