MARYSVILLE — If there’s any lesson that Garnett Dixson and her son Kyle learned from the April 25 cleanup at the Marysville-Pilchuck High School campus, it’s to dispose of gum properly.

“Don’t just chew it up and spit it out,” Dixson said. “There was so much stuck to the pavement. My husband had to help scrape it off, even after he used the power-washer on the pavement.”

Dixson’s husband works for Comcast, which spent that Saturday beautifying M-PHS as part of the company’s nationwide annual “Comcast Cares Day.” As for Kyle, he’s enrolled in fourth grade at Kellogg Marsh Elementary, so he could be attending classes at M-P in a few years.

“My oldest son was painting the library, while I worked on the garden beds,” Dixson said. “I’ve never seen so many folks doing so much here. I just wish we’d had more time, to pretty it up a little more.”

Deann Anguiano, co-principal of the high school, credited M-P PTSA members and alumni with joining Comcast employees to complete the labors Dixson listed, as well as painting the ceilings of the school’s covered walkways.

“I’m not sure those have been repainted since they were originally installed,” Anguiano said. “There was mold and signs that birds had been there, and it was really disgusting. We’ve never had an outside company do this work for us before.”

Anguiano explained that Comcast was originally set to tackle just the library and the TAC building, but soon expanded the scope of the spring cleaning efforts.

“The outpouring of support has been amazing,” Anguiano said. “This is a school that’s really benefitted from community outreach over time, and I hope we can find ways to give back.”

Dixson touted the value of volunteering at the school in terms of how much it broadened her sons’ outlook.

“It lets them know that their little world isn’t the center of the universe,” she laughed. “Like my husband, a lot of folks at the Comcast call center live in Marysville, so they thought it was nice to be able to do a project like this in town.”