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More Community Corner Amesbury revamps role of school custodial staff
From The Beacon, Mass Innovations, December 2008
Not long ago, Amesbury was facing a problem with absenteeism among its 16-member school custodial staff. A total of 300 workdays were lost over a two-year period.
It wasn’t just that the lost days were making it harder to keep the schools clean. According to town officials, the frequent absences were also preventing the staff from staying on top of basic maintenance needs.
With custodians often having to cover for their absent colleagues, “You couldn’t generally ask them to do other things because they were struggling to keep pace with their routine,” Mayor Thatcher Kezer recalled.
Through an unusual agreement with the union representing the custodians, town and school officials achieved what they describe as a hybrid approach to ensuring that building and grounds maintenance would not be neglected.
Basic chores such as sweeping floors and tidying up restrooms are now handled for the most part by a private contractor. The size of the town’s in-house staff, meanwhile, was reduced from 16 to eight, and employees were required to reapply for those positions. The new jobs came with a new title (“multi-purpose facility technician”), a higher pay scale, and a range of responsibilities that make use of skills such as carpentry, painting, landscaping, and lighting maintenance.
Some of the eight workers who failed to qualify for the new maintenance-oriented jobs took early retirement. Others accepted severance packages.
“I think the union, to their credit, recognized the need to increase productivity,” Kezer said of the process that led to the agreement.
Amesbury’s school business manager, David Jack, said that the money saved by eliminating the eight in-house positions is roughly equivalent to the cost of outsourcing basic custodial services. But over the long-term, Jack said, the new emphasis on school building maintenance will almost certainly save the town money by avoiding major expenses – such as replacing a school building’s roof – that can result from inadequate regular maintenance.
Previously, Jack said, Amesbury had to pay contractors from $30 to $60 an hour to address specific maintenance needs. Obtaining the money to pay for such services was often difficult.
“I think you’re starting to see that some of the things you might not to be able to push onto budgets, you’re now able to do,” he said.
The former custodians who were hired for the eight new positions still must handle some of their former chores. One of the eight must take care of basic janitorial duties during each school day, before the workers from the private firm arrive after school hours, and another staff member must remain on hand, in a liaison role, while the private workers go about their chores. Members of the in-house staff also are required for evening events, such as youth basketball games that take place at a school gym.
The advantage of the new arrangement, according to Jack, is most evident in the summer and on other days when school buildings are open but neither students nor teachers are on the premises. On at least 41 days a year, the eight staff members can devote themselves entirely to maintenance and grounds work.
Contracting out for that many days of maintenance work, Jack said, would cost between $80,000 and $160,000 a year.
For more information, contact Mayor Kezer at (978) 388-8121.
More Community Corner Amesbury revamps role of school custodial staff
Amesbury revamps role of school custodial staff
From The Beacon, Mass Innovations, December 2008
Not long ago, Amesbury was facing a problem with absenteeism among its 16-member school custodial staff. A total of 300 workdays were lost over a two-year period.
It wasn’t just that the lost days were making it harder to keep the schools clean. According to town officials, the frequent absences were also preventing the staff from staying on top of basic maintenance needs.
With custodians often having to cover for their absent colleagues, “You couldn’t generally ask them to do other things because they were struggling to keep pace with their routine,” Mayor Thatcher Kezer recalled.
Through an unusual agreement with the union representing the custodians, town and school officials achieved what they describe as a hybrid approach to ensuring that building and grounds maintenance would not be neglected.
Basic chores such as sweeping floors and tidying up restrooms are now handled for the most part by a private contractor. The size of the town’s in-house staff, meanwhile, was reduced from 16 to eight, and employees were required to reapply for those positions. The new jobs came with a new title (“multi-purpose facility technician”), a higher pay scale, and a range of responsibilities that make use of skills such as carpentry, painting, landscaping, and lighting maintenance.
Some of the eight workers who failed to qualify for the new maintenance-oriented jobs took early retirement. Others accepted severance packages.
“I think the union, to their credit, recognized the need to increase productivity,” Kezer said of the process that led to the agreement.
Amesbury’s school business manager, David Jack, said that the money saved by eliminating the eight in-house positions is roughly equivalent to the cost of outsourcing basic custodial services. But over the long-term, Jack said, the new emphasis on school building maintenance will almost certainly save the town money by avoiding major expenses – such as replacing a school building’s roof – that can result from inadequate regular maintenance.
Previously, Jack said, Amesbury had to pay contractors from $30 to $60 an hour to address specific maintenance needs. Obtaining the money to pay for such services was often difficult.
“I think you’re starting to see that some of the things you might not to be able to push onto budgets, you’re now able to do,” he said.
The former custodians who were hired for the eight new positions still must handle some of their former chores. One of the eight must take care of basic janitorial duties during each school day, before the workers from the private firm arrive after school hours, and another staff member must remain on hand, in a liaison role, while the private workers go about their chores. Members of the in-house staff also are required for evening events, such as youth basketball games that take place at a school gym.
The advantage of the new arrangement, according to Jack, is most evident in the summer and on other days when school buildings are open but neither students nor teachers are on the premises. On at least 41 days a year, the eight staff members can devote themselves entirely to maintenance and grounds work.
Contracting out for that many days of maintenance work, Jack said, would cost between $80,000 and $160,000 a year.
For more information, contact Mayor Kezer at (978) 388-8121.
Written by MMA Associate Editor Mitch Evich
