(Dade County) Schools consider hiring firm to train custodians

[Guest guest]

Monday, February 4, 2002

Schools consider hiring firm to train custodians

BY STEVE HARRISON

sharrison@...

Prompted by messy restrooms and criticism of efforts to clean up mold and

mildew, the Broward School Board will consider hiring a private firm to

shake up the custodial and maintenance staffs in the county's public

schools.

Board Chairman Bob Parks wants to hire a firm to train managers, who can

then train workers. He touts his plan as a way to make the public sector

work more like the private sector. He insists it isn't privatization.

``This isn't about layoffs. It's about working with unions,'' Parks said.

``One of the biggest problems we've had with the custodians is training.

The union that represents the school district's maintenance workers and

custodians says it is watching the proposal carefully.

``Our opinion is that we're wary,'' said Reynolds, executive director

of the Federation of Public Employees. ``This appears to be a management

contract, not an employee contract. But we are still concerned.''

Reynolds said a better way to keep schools cleaner might be to hire more

custodians instead of spending money on a professional manager.

The number of school district maintenance workers, including clerical

workers, hasn't come close to keeping up with increased enrollment. In the

1993-94 school year, the district had 705 employees on the maintenance

staff. This year, it has 760 -- an increase of about 8 percent.

During the same time, enrollment has risen about 53 percent.

``We've added a lot of square footage in schools since then, too,'' said

Sylvester , the district's maintenance director.

The School Board will discuss Tuesday whether to take the first step in

seeking outside help. Deputy Superintendent Jim Notter said he did not know

how much the partnership would cost, though he guessed it would be about $1

million to hire a firm for a short-term contract.

That could be a tough sell in a year when board members are likely to have

less money in the overall budget.

Messy, smelly restrooms have been a long-running complaint of parents and

students. Sunrise Middle School Principal Dahl has her custodians

monitor restrooms every two hours, but not all schools are as diligent.

``I would lie if I said I haven't seen bad bathrooms,'' she said. ``It's

just really hard to keep a bathroom fresh all day long with so many kids.''

Last year, Broward County inspected restrooms at 81 schools that were being

used for summer after-care programs. Inspectors found problems with eight of

them.

Parks' initiative also results from a school district audit critical of its

efforts to eradicate mold and mildew, which some parents have blamed for

their children's illnesses. The audit said the major departments weren't

working together, and singled out maintenance for several criticisms. One

problem: More than $300,000 in new air-conditioning equipment had been left

outside, exposed to the elements.

Assistant State Attorney Countryman plans to reopen a grand jury

investigation into the mold and mildew program.

He hopes to finish his probe by summer or fall.

http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/broward/digdocs/022953.htm