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Mayors warn DOE school grounds contracts underfunded; council explores stopgap assistance for 2025
Summary
Council members debated who should fund and manage school grounds maintenance after multiple contract protests and delays; mayors discussed using mayoral resources or revolving funds for short-term help while urging the Department of Education to resolve procurement and staffing issues.
Mayors at the Jan. 22 meeting raised repeated concerns that Department of Education (DOE) grass- and grounds-maintenance contracts are underfunded and that procurement protests and emergency contracts this month may leave schools with uncut grounds.
Council President Mayor Luis Rivera and several mayors said DOE’s scope-of-work and contractor payments have historically been too small to attract or retain vendors, citing past per-school allocations that contractors and mayors described as inadequate. Rivera said some villages will likely receive calls from principals asking for help now, not later, and urged mayors…
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