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Chula Vista classified employees ask board to adopt national cleaning standards and staffing formula for custodians
Summary
Organization of Classified Employees and other groups told trustees that custodial workloads and equipment are unrealistic at district schools and urged adoption of industry staffing formulas (APPA) and clearer supervisory lines to reduce overwork and improve school hygiene.
Representatives of the Organization of Classified Employees and other school-adjacent groups told the Chula Vista Elementary School District board that custodial staffing levels, equipment and conflicting directions are creating untenable workloads that leave campuses under-cleaned or staff exhausted.
Angela Reed, who spoke for the Organization of Classified Employees of Chula Vista, said custodians are often given tasks that cannot be completed in the time allotted. Reed described a recurring example: she said an assignment such as picking up food debris from carpets can take as long as 20 minutes but custodians are sometimes given just four minutes to finish the task. Reed told trustees that custodial vacuum backpacks can weigh as much as 35 pounds and that current equipment and procedures can make safe bending and lifting difficult.
Reed urged the district to adopt recognized cleaning and staffing standards used in education and institutional settings, and to apply a nationally recognized staffing formula (commonly used references in the sector include APPA standards) rather than internal, outdated formulas. She said some district custodians are routinely assigned to clean between 40,000 and 80,000 square feet per night, while industry guidance for different levels of service would allocate far smaller areas per custodian.
Rosie Martednez, speaking for Educators of Chula Vista, welcomed that the board will receive a tentative agreement and ratification materials and thanked district negotiators. She also joined Reed in urging attention to workloads for counselors, psychologists and related support staff and said adopting a staffing formula for custodians would provide clearer expectations across sites.
Teresa Corona, representing the Association of Administrators of Chula Vista, said the proposed proclamation of Women''s History Month and other items reflected district-wide collaboration but also reiterated the need for consistent custodial supervision and clear chains of command.
Board members acknowledged the concerns and asked staff to respond with options. Trustees and administrators discussed establishing a supervisory layer that provides consistent direction and a staffing-calculation method based on square footage and level-of-service standards. The board did not adopt a new formula at the meeting but directed staff to report back with recommended formulas and implementation steps.
