Board hears 10-year custodial contract proposal that would shift most custodians off district payroll

Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools officials on Oct. 14 presented the board with a proposed 10-year addendum to the district's custodial services contract with SSC that would amortize a roughly $4.25 million debt to the vendor and set a new annual contract value of about $16.88 million.

The proposal would expand contracted coverage to all district locations, include a sign-on payment equal to the debt that would be repaid over the contract term, and require a reduction in force (RIF) of district custodial staff so most custodians would transition to SSC payroll. Chief Operations Officer Lauren Richards described the sign-on payment as “in the amount equivalent to the current debt owed for fiscal year 25,” and said the agreement would offer existing custodial staff positions with SSC at their current site and rate of pay.

The proposal’s supporters framed it as a means to repay a large vendor debt while reducing ongoing local personnel costs. Richards told the board the district currently spends roughly $20.5 million annually on custodial services when combining in-house and contracted work; the addendum’s blended costs for a partial fiscal year were presented to show projected savings beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

Why it matters: SSC is one of the district’s largest creditors and the district faces multiple vendor debts that must be repaid as part of an overall debt-repayment plan. The contract change would remove large numbers of employees from the district payroll midyear, alter retirement contributions for long-serving custodians and change how custodial services are administered across schools.

Key elements presented

- Contract term and total: recommended 10-year term with annual renewals and an annual contract amount presented as $16,880,000. Lauren Richards said the addendum would include equipment investment, startup/onboarding costs and a sign-on amount equal to the debt.

- Debt and amortization: the district currently lists SSC as a vendor to whom it owes about $4,250,000 for fiscal 2025; the addendum’s financial structure would amortize that amount over the contract term rather than require immediate repayment if the addendum is approved.

- Staffing and RIF mechanics: the district would apply Board Policy 4100 (reduction in force) for classified custodial employees. Chief Human Resources Officer Chris Weichart explained the RIF process would rank employees by continuous full‑time service (quintiles), evaluation score, and a third criterion tied to years of service in the state retirement system (credit for those with 15–25+ years). Richards estimated retaining a small cohort of district custodians (roughly 35, accounting for several announced retirements) while the remainder would be offered jobs through SSC; those remaining on district payroll would be those with long service or other retention criteria. She told the board the plan would offer each affected employee an SSC position at the same pay rate and site.

- Financial credits and costs: the proposed addendum includes an “accounts receivable credit” of $28,080 annually per district employee retained on the district payroll in the transition calculation; it also includes startup/onboarding costs of roughly $143,000 for November–December and equipment purchases of several hundred thousand dollars to bring sites to contractor standards.

Staff and union concerns

Speakers from the Forsyth County Association of Educators and other school staff raised objections during public comment and board discussion. Jenni Easterbrook, president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators, said the move would “rip away their benefits, their longevity, their stability, and their ability to retire with dignity after decades of service,” and criticized a proposed 10-year term as limiting future leverage to enforce service standards. Several public commenters and board members questioned whether offers by SSC would be truly comparable in benefits, particularly retirement and health insurance, and asked what remedies the district would retain if contractor performance declined. Vice Chair Bohannon and other board members pressed staff on termination clauses, notice periods and the amount due if the district ended the agreement early; Lauren Richards said the contract would retain cure and termination language and recommended a lengthy notice period (she suggested a minimum of 120 days) to allow time to re-mobilize services.

Timeline and next steps

Administration described an expedited calendar: finalize contract language after Oct. 14, present the addendum and a formal RIF request to the board on Oct. 28, notify impacted personnel beginning Oct. 29–Nov. 7 with benefit meetings and SSC offer letters, transition management-level onboarding Dec. 1, and move full service to SSC Jan. 1, 2026 if the board approves. Richards and Weichart emphasized that employees would receive written SSC offers and benefits information before deciding whether to accept a move.

What remains unresolved

Board members and public speakers asked for clearer, written comparisons of total compensation (salary plus health benefits and retirement) between current district employment and SSC offers; details on which management-level positions would be hired by SSC; and confirmation of how the district would treat longevity, leave payouts and any special local supplements. Multiple trustees also requested the board receive alternative amortization scenarios (five- or seven-year terms) and clearer contractual out clauses before voting.

Provenance: first and last transcript excerpts below support this reporting.