Union Pres: Fewer Custodians Is Bad Idea

Adding another 1,500 square feet to a total of 19,500 square feet doesn't sound like much.

But for the already overworked custodians cleaning up after Hernando County's schoolchildren, it could mean the difference between a clean school and a dirty one, says Colin Davies, president of the Hernando United School Workers.

"You've already got a full seven hours of work and I give you two hours more," Davies said. "Would you be able to do the same efficient job with the same high standards?"

The school board has approved in principle a move to increase from 19,500 to 21,000 the number of square feet each custodian is responsible to clean.

That would reduce the number of custodians in the district by five to save about $156,000 in the 2009-10 budget. It's one of some two dozen strategies that would trim a total of nearly $16 million next year.

The money saved is probably not worth risking clean schools, Davies told the board at a budget workshop last month.

While not all of the district's roughly 200 custodians are members of the union, the group represents all of the custodians for working conditions.

The district's custodial force is already understaffed, and many custodians are barely finishing their tasks in their eight-hour days, Davies said. Some are even working off the clock just to finish the job.

Since schools are such notorious havens for germs, cutting corners could be dangerous.

"Custodians are responsible for your health, safety and/or welfare of the children," Davies said. "I would be careful about adding more to what they already have."

The Hernando district's custodial budget is about $6.1 million. The five positions would be lost through attrition, said Ken Hill, the district's maintenance director.

The district's custodians are doing a top-notch job, Hill said. He acknowledged that with the rise in the number of cases of highly contagious illnesses such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, the district can't afford to do a shoddy cleaning job.

But Hill said he's confident adding just a little more to the custodian's load won't compromise cleanliness.

"Will the schools still be clean? Heck, yeah," Hill said. "That's our job, and our custodial manager will make sure that happens."

Hill pointed out some school districts have increased their ratios to one custodian for every 24,000 or even 27,000 square feet.

"Those are the schools I'd be concerned about cleanliness," Hill said. "With 21,000, I think we can still do our jobs and keep the schools clean for the kids."

The Citrus School District increased its ratio to 24,000 square feet last year to save labor costs, said Mike Mullen, that district's director of school support services. So far the move has worked well, but the district relies on input from principals to determine if a school needs extra attention, Mullen said.

Hernando Superintendent Wayne Alexander said he's confident custodial workers will do whatever they need to do to make sure schools are disinfected.

"I don't think it's a health concern," Alexander said.

Alexander also pointed out the district is enjoying increased efficiency through a "team cleaning approach," in which a crew of custodians attacks a school room by room.

The method is already in place at about three-quarters of the district's schools, Hill said. It's working well and is "the way to go" when staffing levels aren't ideal, he said. Team members have more pride in their work and make sure the job is getting done.

Team cleaning does work, Davies acknowledged, but not at every school. And if members of the team call in sick and no substitutes can be called in, the work won't get done.

He still maintains fewer bodies will mean cutting corners, especially on days when a custodian comes into a bathroom or classroom and finds a disaster area that blows an already tight schedule.

"You're going to lose some efficiency," he said. "I don't care if you're Superman."

Davies said some principals and teachers can be particular when it comes to cleanliness, and district officials should explain that, in some cases, not every rug will be vacuumed or every surface dusted.

School board member Sandra Nicholson said that's reasonable.

"They may have to vacuum every other day," Nicholson said. "That's just a fact of life. Handle the emergencies first and dusting and vacuuming may have to be cut back a little bit."

The Hernando district tried privatizing custodial services in the late 1990s to disastrous results, both Hill and Davies agreed.

Schools weren't cleaned to standards, and no money was saved by the time the program was scrapped. But Hill still meets with companies that come to pitch their services. In fact, he met last month with GCA Services - a company the Collier County school district hired last year - but has no plans to bring a proposal to the board.

"I don't see how they can possibly be more cost effective than what we're doing here," he said.