Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Custodial Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Independent audit ranks Union custodial operations "excellent"; district to focus on targeted fixes
Summary
An independent audit by Core America gave Union Public Schools a district-wide custodial quality score of 91.5 and flagged mostly easily correctable deficiencies; the district plans to use audit photos and data to guide custodial crews and reassess secondary-site staffing.
At the board meeting, Dr. Robinson presented preliminary findings from an independent custodial audit by Core America, reporting a district-wide quality index of 91.5 and citing mostly minor, fixable deficiencies.
The audit matters because building cleanliness affects daily learning and safety: Core America inspected 23 buildings, assessed about 352 rooms and almost 5,000 individual item types, and took more than 500 photographs to document findings. "Union Public Schools graded out very high," Dr. Robinson said, adding that the district ranked second among the peer group Core America selected.
Core America's assessment used a 100-point quality index and national APA cleaning guidelines. Dr. Robinson said the most common deficiencies—about 60 percent—were soil, dust and buildup that are generally "easily correctable," such as streaks on restroom fixtures, stains on carpets and missed kick plates on doors. He said elementary schools generally scored in the high 90s while secondary sites averaged in the mid-to-upper 80s.
District staff explained factors behind the gap between elementary and secondary sites. Secondary campuses have larger square footage and more event-related cleanups that pull custodial staff off routine duties, which reduces time available for scheduled cleaning. When asked about coverage, Dr. Robinson summarized industry guidance: "The industry standard and the APA standards will tell you to get high level cleaning, you want one custodian per 30,000 square feet, give or take." He noted an elementary site of about 70,000 square feet typically has three custodians, allowing coverage for absences without redistributing routine work.
Dr. Robinson said the staffing assessment portion of Core America's work was not yet complete and that the district is already using the audit photos and data to train crews and correct issues identified that same night. He singled out Cindy Alexander, identified in the meeting as Union's custodial coordinator for 25 years, for praise: "I really want to make sure that Cindy gets a shout out here for her," he said.
Board member Dr. Bederman echoed that commendation during audience and board comments, saying the audit "was so nice tonight to hear about the successes of our operations and custodial team" and thanking staff for their coordination.
Next steps described by staff include completing Core America's staffing assessment, using the photo library to show crews specific deficiencies to correct, and evaluating secondary-site staffing levels to reduce event-driven disruptions to routine cleaning. No formal board action was taken on the audit during the meeting.
The report and the district's planned use of the audit materials aim to combine evidence-based recommendations with ongoing custodial oversight and training.
