Washington State’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) released a report a few years back that indicated state and local school districts had spent almost $20 billion in the past 17 years on new school construction or renovation projects. The amount averaged $1.1 billion per year and did not include another $42 million from federal and other funds that were also used for capital improvement projects.
However, the OSPI realized there is a very close connection between investments in school facilities and maintaining those facilities in a clean, safe, and healthy manner as well as taking steps to extend the useful life of the facility. To support this contention, the report pointed to studies that indicate student performance tends to improve in a clean, well-maintained facility, along with a 2003 study that found teachers were more inclined to stay in their profession and continue working for school districts when they worked in healthy, well-maintained schools.
Presenting these and other facts to the state legislature, the OSPI was able to convince lawmakers that in addition to providing funds to build and upgrade schools, they needed funding for the schools’ long-term upkeep and maintenance…which the lawmakers agreed to fund.
The legislation signed into law requires minimum environmental and safety standards for the state’s school facilities. It also requires districts to provide more staff time to implement programs that essentially protect school buildings and assets. For these tasks, referred to as “operational maintenance,” they turned to different groups such as grounds workers and general maintenance crews but primarily to school custodians.
Their reasoning: School Cleaning workers clean, sanitize, and remove trash. “They also perform a variety of non-cleaning tasks that help care for school properties such as opening the school; checking for vandalism; inspecting playgrounds and fields, responding to teachers’ and principals’ requests [pertaining to both cleaning and building maintenance needs], . . . ordering and delivering supplies.”
Essentially what the OSPI has done is to turn custodial workers into the “go-to” workers to tackle and handle a variety of school needs, all in the interest of protecting school assets along with the health and long-term usefulness of the schools. While turning over such operational tasks to custodial workers is not necessarily new, it is becoming more widespread, especially now as budgets tighten and school districts must turn to current staff to handle building repairs that might at one time have been hired out.
As a cleaning consultant working with school districts and universities, I have witnessed this trend and see it as one more step in the evolution and importance of the role of cleaning workers and the professional cleaning industry. As more emphasis was put on how effective cleaning can protect health and improve student performance, custodial workers were placed on a much higher and more important platform than ever before.
So what are some of these “operational maintenance” tasks that custodial workers are being asked to perform?
In addition to cleaning, some include the following:
- Repairing carpets and hard-surface floors
- Fixing leaks and addressing other plumbing issues
- Conducting water audits and checking that water-using fixtures are using water efficiently
- Beyond replacing lightbulbs, repairing light fixtures and in some cases, installing energy efficient lighting systems
- Addressing safety concerns such as torn or damaged stair treads and loose or unhinged railings and doors
- Repairing HVAC issues (when possible)
- Repairing windows and doors
- Repairing indoor and outdoor walls and tile
Most of these items listed are essentially routine repairs. The difference is that many of these new operational tasks involve preventive maintenance. For instance, conducting inspections to ensure that major mechanicals such as heating and air-conditioning, plumbing, electrical, as well as roofs and other structural areas of the building are serviced and properly repaired if necessary, can forestall or prevent a costly emergency from occurring.
The importance of preventive maintenance was pointed out in the OSPI report. The report indicated cleaning costs tend to be relatively stable in school facilities from year to year, but this is not true when it comes to infrastructural maintenance. Instead, these infrastructural and building component costs can vary widely from year to year depending on the age of the building and its overall condition. Typically, these costs can be minimized and more stable with an ongoing preventive maintenance program in place.
School districts in the United States are grappling with scores of different issues. Many are struggling just to keep the doors open. However, ignoring or delaying the care and repair of school buildings will eventually add to their struggles and costs. Structural emergencies are invariably expensive and potentially dangerous for school users. Keeping them at bay with routine and preventive maintenance provided by custodial workers can help prevent these crises from arising. This is why school cleaning workers do a lot more than just clean, sanitize, and take out the trash.
Segura & Associates was founded by Ron Segura, who now serves as president of the company. Ron has over 45 years of experience in all segments of the professional cleaning and building operation with ten of those years spent as Manager of Janitorial /Document Services for Walt Disney Pictures and Television. Segura & Associates works with clients, helping them operate their facilities in a healthier, more sustainable, and efficient manner. He can be reached via his website at https://www.seguraassociates.com.
