Committee probes custodial vendor billing and permitted-event coverage after SJ Services dispute

The Finance and Operations Committee of the New Haven School District spent an extended portion of its April 7 meeting probing billing, contract performance and coverage gaps tied to SJ Services, a custodial vendor, after staff said SJ Services declined to provide permitted-event work in late 2024.

Committee members and staff described a months-long reconciliation of SJ Services invoices that began when facilities staff started reviewing time sheets and found the vendor had used a paper-based system rather than the required electronic clocking system. Miss Boren, a district staff member who led the briefing, said negotiations produced reduced invoices but that SJ Services stopped performing permitted-event work in November after disputes over hours and payment.

"We were able to negotiate that down to 463,000," Miss Boren said of a summer billing originally presented at about $508,000, and added that because SJ Services…