The quality of maintenance at Springfield schools varied widely before EduClean was hired.
A custodian at Springfield Central High School uses a scrubbing machine to help remove the top layers of wax and dirt buildup from the second floor corridor SPRINGFIELD – Reversing a decision by the former Springfield Finance Control Board, the School Committee has voted to hire more than 80 new custodians at schools cleaned by a private firm for five years.
In approving the change for the coming school year, the committee said the $11 million plan will save money and improve school maintenance – the same rationale cited by the control board to hire Danvers-based cleaning contractor EduClean in 2006.
The committee approved the new hirings on a 5-0 vote, with member Peter M. Murphy abstaining. Two subcommittees – Building Maintenance and Finance – had previously endorsed returning to in-house cleaning crews.
About 100 night custodians were laid off after EduClean was hired on a five-year, $18 million contract designed to save the city $9 million; another 100 on the day shift kept their jobs.
Under the new plan, the city will hire 55 full-time custodians, 24 part-time custodians and three supervisors to replace about 200 part-timers working nights for EduClean. The annual cost, including the fringe costs was listed as estimated at $11,954,744, or $268,340 less EduClean’s the current contract.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the timing of the transition will depend on how quickly new janitors can be hired. If enough help can be found quickly, the new night crew will take over July 1; if not, EduClean’s contract will be extended for three months, Sarno said.
“The important thing is that we will have continuity,” said Sarno, who also serves as chairman of the school board.
School Committee member Antonette Pepe supported the move on the condition that new janitors do a better job than the old ones.
A review of school maintenance by The Republican in 1999 found glaring inconsistencies from school to school, with some clean and well-maintained and others grimy and graffiti-scrawled, with dustballs and dead leaves in hallways and dead bugs lining the windowsills.
Since arriving in 2006, EduClean has its share of critics, including Pepe, who complained of dirty bathrooms and drinking fountains at several schools in 2007.