FARMINGTON — Bus driver/custodian Carolyn Boyker takes great pride in the job she does for the Mt. Blue Regional School District and in the relationships she has built over the years with students and their families.

“We go above and beyond what is just cleaning floors and taking down cobwebs and taking out the trash,” she told the school board Tuesday night.

“(Custodians) are responsible for every aspect of keeping the schools sanitary and healthy. … The type of cleaning we do is far from easy or basic. It is industrial,” she said.

“And some days we are counselors, healers or protectors and we spend time just listening to what students have to say,” she said.

Outsourcing custodial work and transportation services are not part of the 2011-12 budget. The school board, however, is not ruling out either option in the event voters reject the proposed $25.38 million spending plan at the May 24 district-wide budget meeting at Mt. Blue High School.

The public comment session Tuesday, attended largely by district employees, showed strong resistance to the idea of hiring a private company to clean the schools. Last week, similar objections were voiced on a proposal to outsource transportation services.

The low bidder for custodial services is Benchmark Cleaning & Supply of Portland, with a potential savings of about $209,700 a year. Last week, Northeast Charter’s bid projected a $108,700 annual savings in transportation services.

“Everything we do is supposed to be in the best interest of our students but outsourcing would take away that personal bond that has been established in the students’ best interests,” Boyker said.

Mallett School teacher Kathy Childs said the custodians are part of the school community. She has seen numerous examples of how students with low self-esteem or behavioral issues can connect with a caring custodian who might offer a child a chance to help out, such as sweeping or cleaning lunch tables.

“It is not just cleaning that they do. They are family,” she said.

Board members in past meetings have been reluctant to consider outsourcing because it would mean laying off full-time workers and replacing them with part-time positions.

“It is the intention of the board to continue custodian and transportation services as is. I hope and pray we can stay with what we have,” Director Bob Flick of Farmington said.

Support Services Director David Leavitt, who presented the bids, explained the impact on employee benefits for bus drivers if custodial services are privatized.

The district currently has 23 bus driving positions, of which 22 are eligible for full benefits when combined with custodial hours and/or other duties, he said.

If the district privatized custodial hours, 10 drivers would maintain year-round positions because they could still pick up other transportation-related duties during the summer such as cleaning buses or providing transportation for the extended year program, he said.

Twelve drivers would lose their full-time status.

Under the proposed budget, the district’s operating costs are expected to increase by less than 1 percent, or $184,000, over the current year. However, when $3.2 million in debt service for two new schools under construction is added in, even though 95 percent will be funded by a state bond, the budget jumps 15 percent to $25.38 million.

The budget is 15 percent higher than what was raised for 2010-11 and reflects the loss of $416,000 in state subsidy.

Copy the Story Link