Schools

Union to BOE: Stop Outsourcing

Members of the Moorestown Education Association, and other members of the community, urged the board not to privatize nighttime custodial services at the middle school.

Members of the Moorestown Education Association (MEA) chastised the school board Tuesday over the possibility it might switch out in-house custodians for outsourced janitorial services at the middle school. 

Though the district already contracts with ABM Northeast Inc. to provide nighttime custodial services at five of its six schools—district employees provide daytime services at all six—the union argued that expanding ABM's contract to all the buildings (strictly for nighttime custodial services) would create further problems, and potentially pose a safety risk for students and staff.

Business administrator Lynn Shugars said the district had received no formal complaints about ABM, a claim members of the MEA vigorously denied. They laid out a litany of problems—language barrier issues, inadequate cleaning, theft from classrooms—associated with ABM custodians at the other schools, and urged the board to reconsider replacing the middle school's in-house custodians.

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"(The district custodians) provide a safe and clean environment for the students and staff who use the building," said teacher Heather Trapani. "The students know the custodians. They have relationships with them."

A parent of a middle school child expressed similar reservations, and said the potential change had even trickled down to the students: "They're saying the people who were going to be coming were not going to be the people they see every day who they know, who they have relationships with, who they trust, who they feel comfortable and safe around … The kids are agents of this too."

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Other union members explained the toll the outsourcing would have on the district's custodians, some of whom would be laid off if ABM took over nighttime services at the middle school.

MEA president Lisa Trapani laid into the board, referencing a stack of news stories a colleague found through an online search: an alleged rape in Arizona seven years ago; a sexual harassment lawsuit in California several years ago; janitorial workers arrested at a St. Louis airport last year for electronics theft—all associated with ABM.

"Really? You really did your research? We all know how to Google search too," she said.

The board ultimately tabled the vote on ABM's contract. President Don Mishler said ABM is one of two low bidders for custodial services, the other being Blue Stripe. 

Mishler said Blue Stripe's base bid—which would maintain the current setup, with the middle school keeping in-house custodial staff at night—is about $17,000 cheaper than the current contract with ABM.

ABM's bid, including the base bid and the alternate (to provide nighttime services at the middle school), would come out to about $300,000 cheaper over the life of the three-year contract, according to Mishler.

He acknowledged the "inherent risk" in subcontracting any school service, but said the risk is no different or greater than the one associated with the district's outsourcing of cafeteria staff or bus drivers—or the nighttime custodians at the other schools. 

"When you add it all up, you could have 200 people a day (coming into contact with students) that aren't our people," he said. "We have successfully managed this risk in the past."

ABM custodians would, and do, have to undergo the same background checks as every other district employee—teachers, administrators, school board members—he said. "This is not the Wild West. They will be monitored, managed."

The MEA used the discussion about ABM as a springboard to address other concerns related to outsourcing, such as groundskeepers, as well as the potential future outsourcing of paraprofessionals.

The board , and one of the district's paraprofessionals asked whether the board was considering outsourcing for the 2014-15 budget.

"We haven’t entertained the '14-15 budget," Mishler said. "So the answer is, we do not have such plans, at this time. There’s a whole bunch of unknowns going into next year."

"We're concerned about the unknowns," the paraprofessional responded.

Other MEA members, along with members of the community, suggested the continued outsourcing of professionals was "chipping away at the foundation that makes Moorestown great."

"You continue to treat us like a business—we're not a business," said middle school teacher Pam Keller. "If you continue to replace our 'parts' with less expensive parts ... we're not going to be the best."

The board tabled a decision on the custodial contract Tuesday after meeting in executive session. 

Mishler said the board will hold a special meeting to further discuss the matter before its next regularly scheduled meeting on June 25.

ABM's current contract expires on June 30.


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