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Board hears comprehensive maintenance plan; custodial staffing below APPA standard after decade of cuts
Summary
Facilities staff presented the annual comprehensive maintenance plan and said custodial staffing remains below recommended APPA ratios; board members discussed preventive maintenance, shared custodial assignments and the pressure of added square footage from pre‑K and other projects.
The Board of Education on Oct. 8 approved the district’s annual Comprehensive Maintenance Plan and received an extended briefing on custodial and maintenance staffing, preventive maintenance practices and tradeoffs created by a decade of budget reductions.
Facilities Director Ray Prokop told the board the district has emphasized preventive maintenance and integrated a computerized maintenance management system to reduce costly emergency repairs. “It’s much more cost‑effective to address things before they break,” Prokop said, describing daily, monthly and quarterly preventive schedules used by building supervisors.
Board members pressed on staffing levels. The CMP cites guidance from the American Physical Plant Association (APPA) and shows an inferred staffing need of roughly 259 custodial positions for the district’s approximately 4.2 million square feet; Prokop said the district currently has about 255 custodial positions and noted that, relative to APPA guidance, the system is about 34 custodians short compared with the recommended level after years of cuts that began about 2011–2014.
Prokop and the superintendent explained operational tradeoffs made during budget reductions: some custodial posts were split between two buildings; overtime and facility‑use coverage (evenings for athletics and community events) add unbudgeted hours; and adding square footage for pre‑K expansions will require reevaluating custodial allocations in the next budget cycle. “We have to… analyze that very question in the upcoming budget cycle,” Prokop said.
Board members praised the quality of building maintenance while expressing concern for sustainability. “Our staff works incredibly hard, and I want the community to understand that they’re doing so with below‑standard resources,” said board member Zimmer. Several members asked staff to include custodial and maintenance staffing scenarios in FY27 budget modeling.
Why this matters: Custodial and preventive maintenance staffing levels affect building health, operations, after‑hours facility use and long‑term capital costs. With several capital projects in motion and a limited fund balance, the district faces decisions about whether to restore staffing, convert temporary funds to ongoing positions or continue to rely on one‑time capital transfers for recurring maintenance needs.
