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RPS 205 facilities chief touts in‑house work, faster work‑order completion and energy moves
Summary
Facilities director Eli Timmish described in-house trade work on capital projects, higher work-order completion rates (from about 62% to 80% within service targets), and partnerships to cut energy costs as part of a drive to improve building conditions across 45 district sites.
Rockford Public Schools’ facilities leadership described operational changes intended to improve building conditions and reduce project costs during a Committee of the Whole presentation at Riverdal Elementary School.
Eli Timmish, the district’s Executive Director of Facilities, said the facilities team now manages roughly 4.9 million square feet across 45 buildings and is using a strategy of bringing specialty trade work in-house to reduce contractor costs and change orders. 'We bring a lot of that trade work in house with our specialty trades,' he said. 'We're able to then take a lot of that, the man hours and equipment costs off that capital project expenditures and keep it in house and maintain a better outcome.'
Timmish cited measurable improvements in the district’s FMX work-order system: completion performance in a 14-day target window rose from about 62% in 2022 to approximately 80% at the time of his report, and the district has reduced its backlog of long‑open work orders 'from the 3,000s' to roughly 720 when the report was created. 'So getting that number down to 720, that was... a huge accomplishment,' he said.
Timmish also described efforts to improve building appearance and utility efficiency through partnerships with ComEd and Helm to optimize building automation systems and to cut energy and utility costs while maintaining comfort for students and staff.
The presentation included examples of in‑house upgrades (lighting, flooring, painting) at STEAM and Roosevelt projects and noted the facilities team’s 46 tradespeople, three senior managers, two directors and nine operations coordinators. District leaders said the facilities work links directly to the district’s capital projects planning and the $50M bond proposal introduced elsewhere on the agenda.
Next steps: Facilities staff will continue to integrate FMX reporting into operations and collaborate with construction and design teams on forthcoming capital projects tied to the district’s master plan.
