Plymouth-Canton board approves turnkey crossing-guard contract with All City Management Services

The Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Board of Education on July 15 approved a resolution to award a turnkey crossing-guard services contract to All City Management Services, voting 6-0 to replace the district’s existing provider, EduStaff.

Board members and staff said the switch is intended to address chronic staffing gaps that left many posts unfilled and placed extra safety and overtime burdens on district employees. The contract is a two-year agreement with a not-to-exceed first-year price of $352,581 based on up to 13,320 billable hours at a per-post all-in rate of $26.47; year two carries a not-to-exceed amount of $363,103 at a $27.26 rate, the administration told the board.

The board’s action follows an extended presentation from facilities and safety staff describing daily coverage levels under the current model. "EduStaff has had a historical problem filling all 32 posts across the district," Matt Lentz, director of facilities, said during the meeting, adding that EduStaff filled only about 17–20 posts on a typical day and that the district routinely had to assign grounds staff, physical education staff or building administrators to cover the remainder.

Why it matters: administrators said uncovered posts created safety risks for students at complex intersections and imposed recurring overtime and operational costs on facilities staff. The administration estimated the All City proposal would produce a net savings to the district (after municipal cost-share reimbursements) of roughly $58,000 compared with the current mix of contract costs plus internal overtime.

What the contract does and how it would work: All City will recruit, hire and directly employ crossing guards; provide background checks, equipment, required training, supervision, substitute staffing and insurance; and deliver daily and program-level oversight. The company proposed a ramp-up schedule and told the district it expects to be fully staffed within 45 days of contract signing. The vendor will also provide geo-fenced electronic attendance reporting so the district can verify when a crossing guard arrives and leaves each assigned location.

"There is an app that is used, they're geo fenced, and so we know the time that they walked into that geofence and the time that they left that geofence," Josh Meyer, director of student safety and security, said, describing the vendor’s attendance reporting and the district's ability to produce supporting data for municipal invoicing.

Municipal cost sharing and liability: Under long-standing arrangements the district bills local municipalities for 50% of crossing-guard costs for covered intersections; All City’s proposal anticipates that arrangement and the administration said the vendor’s reporting will make municipal invoicing more auditable. Administrators told the board the motor vehicle code historically places some crossing-guard responsibilities with municipal police departments and that a decades-old consent judgment allocates staffing and cost-sharing responsibilities between the district and the municipalities.

The administration also highlighted a key legal and operational difference between the new contract and the prior model: All City will assume liability for training and performance of the crossing guards and will indemnify the district under the terms proposed. "They take on all the liability of crossing guards and they...exclude the district from that liability," Meyer said. Under the district’s current arrangement with EduStaff, the district retains responsibility for training, equipping and oversight, staff said.

Employee transfers and costs: All City told the district it will offer current crossing-guard employees the opportunity to transfer to All City employment with a $2-per-hour raise; the contract includes a 3% cost-of-living increase for year two on top of that conversion uplift. Administrators said about half the contract cost will be billed directly to municipalities based on hours worked at municipal intersections.

Performance guarantees and penalties: The contract includes a performance provision that allows the district to assess $40 per unstaffed post (per the contract language) once the ramp-up period concludes; administrators told the board that provision and the ramp-up schedule were reasons they recommended a first-and-final reading so the vendor could begin hiring before school starts.

Board response and vote: Board members asked about posting and recruitment methods, municipal invoicing and the $40 per-post penalty. Member Jennifer Voss thanked staff, saying, "I don't have any questions. I just wanna thank you for this. I have kids in the district who need crossing guards and have not had crossing guards at times, so I really appreciate this personally." The board voted 6-0 to approve the contract.

Next steps: If the district executes the contract, administrators said All City expects to reach full staffing in about 45 days and begin issuing attendance and invoice reports to support the district’s municipal billing. The board also retained a 60-day exit clause for poor performance, administrators said.

Notes: All quantitative figures above (contract amounts, billable hours, per-hour rates, and the estimated district savings) were presented by district staff during the July 15 meeting and are reported here as presented to the board.