District maintenance director says 90% of summer projects were done in‑house; trustees praise cost savings

Rudy, the district's director of maintenance and operations, presented a video and summary of summer facilities work and told the Millbrae Elementary School District Board of Trustees that most projects were completed by district staff rather than outside contractors.

"I wanna say 90% of this work, it was done in house," Rudy told trustees as he described painting, gym‑floor work and other summer projects. He said the maintenance group is cross‑trained so members can work at any site and that the team's in‑house approach reduced outside contracting costs.

Trustees praised the work and asked for additional staffing. Trustee comments and superintendent remarks highlighted specific savings: Rudy said a contracted gym floor job elsewhere can cost "18 to $25,000 per floor," and trustees noted that painting quotes for Spring Valley ran about $80,000 when contracted. The district reported it painted exterior doors and trims, refreshed classroom paint, and replaced backpack hooks with flat hooks to reduce safety risks and increase capacity (the district said it installed 32 hooks per upper‑grade classroom and 26 per TK classroom).

Rudy listed members of his maintenance crew and how they were deployed across sites; trustees and staff repeatedly praised the cleanliness and condition of district campuses at the start of the school year. One trustee asked how the district could better support the maintenance team; Rudy said the maintenance crew is small and suggested hiring at least one additional maintenance position to expand in‑house capacity.

The board and the superintendent concluded the remarks with thanks, a brief team photo and a plan to consider staffing options in future budget discussions.