District nears contract with ABM for evening custodial services; costs and board approval questions raised

Fairbanks North Star Borough School District operations staff reported to the board on April 1 that the district is near completion of a cooperative‑purchase contract with ABM to provide evening custodial services district‑wide.

Contract and cost estimate: Chief Operations Officer Andy DeGraw and facilities director Jay Carreon reported the cooperative agreement would set a contract value of approximately $4,074,000 for the district’s evening custodial services and estimated roughly $2.6 million in general‑fund savings plus $300,000–$400,000 in risk‑fund savings (workers’ comp/insurance) compared with the cost of continuing district‑run evening custodial operations. The district said it is using a cooperative solicitation initially issued by Paradise Valley Unified School District (Arizona) to contract under established terms and to avoid issuing a new RFP on an accelerated timeline.

Operational details: The contractor would provide initial deep cleaning district‑wide, maintain ISA K‑12 cleaning standards for evening work, supply evening cleaning equipment and consumables for contract scope, and offer supplemental services and weekend building rental support. The district said it will retain daytime custodians (25 positions preserved) and keep separate storage/staging areas for contractor and district custodial materials. Temporary services provided at eight buildings during the procurement phase have produced positive feedback from building administrators, district staff said.

Board questions and issues raised: Board members asked procurement and legal questions about cooperative contracts, the selection process, vendor autonomy and the lead agency. Procurement staff (Emily Propper) said the co‑op model gives the district autonomy to execute its own contract terms while piggybacking on the lead solicitation’s terms; the lead agency named in the solicitation was Paradise Valley Unified School District. Members also questioned several contract provisions: an equipment amortization clause that could require reimbursement for unamortized equipment if the contract is terminated without cause; a standard vendor provision restricting direct hiring of contractor employees unless they are hired through open district postings (a section in the contract addressing costs if a contractor employee is hired by the district); and the contract’s change‑order provisions that would allow price adjustments if labor market conditions changed.

Policy and process debate: Several members queried whether the co‑op contract required separate board approval under district procurement policy. Administrators cited board policies (440.14 and 440.1) that allow cooperative purchasing and permit purchase orders without additional board action when policy criteria are met. Some board members said the scope and dollar value merit a formal board action; others said the board had previously directed the administration to pursue custodial outsourcing and that reopening the decision would be inappropriate. The board asked administration to provide further cost breakdowns, clarify holiday schedules, confirm how weekend building rentals and elementary activities would be covered, and provide more detail on employee transition and HR implications.

Next steps: Administration said it would provide requested clarifications and historical cost and risk‑fund breakdowns. The administration reported that ABM has been providing temporary services at selected schools and district sites as the contract terms were finalized, and staff said they would return with the contract and requested clarifications.