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OCPS maintenance leaders highlight new work-order system, staffing gaps as top operational issues
Summary
Orange County Public Schools staff told the school board at a May 13 work session that a new Facilitron-based work-order system improved transparency and response, but persistent technician vacancies—especially in HVAC and plumbing—remain the district's largest operational challenge.
At a May 13 Orange County School Board work session, Jonathan Earls, maintenance director for Orange County Public Schools, told trustees the district has modernized facilities operations with a new work-order platform but still struggles to fill technical maintenance positions.
The update matters because the district maintains roughly 34,000,000 square feet across about 250 locations and handles roughly 80,000 facility work orders each year; staffing shortfalls and aging systems affect how quickly problems are fixed and how reliably buildings operate.
"We have roughly 1,100 school-based users in the system," Earls said, referring to the Facilitron-based work-order platform the district has adopted. "Principals, bookkeepers, deans, head custodians — each one of them has complete visibility into all of their requests." He said the system allows users to include photos and to see technician comments and status updates.
Earls and other facilities staff described the system as more customer-focused and credited it with increasing reported issues and completions. "The new work order system has made it much easier to submit and complete work orders," Earls said, adding the district will bring more custodial staff into the system over the summer to improve responsiveness.
At the same time, Earls and Chief Facilities Officer Rory warned trustees the maintenance department faces high vacancy rates. Earls said maintenance vacancies have ranged roughly 9'14% in recent years, with HVAC and plumbing vacancy rates of about 18% and 25%, respectively. "Salaries are certainly a driver," he said, explaining that strong local wage growth has made some trades hard to recruit.
Board members pressed for comparative salary data and asked staff to follow up. Superintendent Vasquez said a salary comparison for Central Florida districts is being prepared.
Facilities staff also reviewed preventive-maintenance improvements, centralized preventive programs for HVAC and roofing, and partnerships with Orange Technical College (OTC) that provide work-study opportunities and a hiring pipeline for graduates. Earls said the custodial department now counts about 1,300 custodians and the maintenance organization about 400 employees.
No board action was taken at the work session; staff said they will return with requested follow-up data, including salary comparisons and expanded user training for the Facilitron system.
