Representatives of SSC, the district’s custodial services contractor, briefed the Quakertown Community School District board on Thursday about staffing shortages, turnover and an action plan to improve cleaning consistency across buildings.

Kenneth Gray, SSC regional vice president, and Cary Bryant, SSC regional director of operations, described steps taken since January: a bench manager assigned to the district to lead retraining, increased hands‑on training for night staff, additional equipment moves and pilot deployment of an autonomous floor scrubber at the high school. Gray told the board SSC will waive the contract's annual CPI increase for the district this year (about $57,000), or alternatively the company can reinvest that amount into tiered wage increases for long‑tenured associates.

"We're waiving our annual CPI increase this year that was previously negotiated," Gray said. "There is another option ... to reinvest that back into the employees and give them all an increase effective July 1." Board members cautioned that declining to pass the increase could leave the district in an awkward position relative to the contractor’s employees and asked SSC to clarify how any waived funds would be used.

SSC described several operational changes: weekly leadership reviews, mandatory interview windows for new hires, expanded training on powered cleaning equipment (auto scrubbers and burnishers), and a ticketing/complaint input system the company offers for principals and building staff. SSC said it purchased an autonomous floor scrubber (approximate retail value cited at about $60,000) and is covering the machine’s mapping/technology fees (about $600 per month) to pilot the equipment in the high school. The company also reported internal measurements: an average inspection score (an internal 1–5 CleanTelligent scale) of 2.34 for February–April, and a district turnover rate of roughly 25% compared with a post‑COVID national average cited by SSC near 200% in the custodial trade.

Board members pushed SSC for faster, measurable results and asked for more accessible, real‑time reporting for principals and staff. "Our problem is consistency," said board member Chris Shermer. "Some days they're great. Other days, it's a dumpster fire." Trustees asked for a fall follow‑up once summer staffing and training cycles are complete and asked SSC and district facilities staff to test methods—such as shorter incident ticket paths, QR codes and routinized principal walk‑throughs—to make issue reporting actionable and immediate.

The board did not take a formal vote on custodial services at the May 22 meeting. SSC representatives said they will continue retraining efforts, populate a Smartsheets action log with weekly progress updates for district leadership and return in the fall with measured outcomes.

Provenance: SSC presented the district update and responded to board questions in the facilities and public‑comment portion of the meeting; the company and board members discussed training, equipment, staffing and quality assurance.