Close-knit community fights outsourcing

The Maple Valley school district isn’t broke – and that’s part of the reason why employees and local residents don’t understand a push to outsource the jobs of district custodians.

The district hasn’t spent about $1.8 million (equivalent to about 15 percent of its annual budget) of the money it receives to educate children – money that pays for classroom services as well as myriad support services, including custodial work, to ensure students are learning in a clean and safe environment

And yet, the school board faces a decision to fire district employees and hire a private company to clean and maintain school facilities. The superintendent has told the media and employees that the tough economy demands that the district consider outsourcing.

“It’s going to be devastating,” said Christy Wendorf, a custodial/maintenance employee.

Over the summer, employees and community members – Maple Valley schools educate children from Vermontville and Nashville, two small villages southwest of Lansing – attended school board meetings and informed community members about the proposal. They collected signatures from about 1,300 local residents who oppose outsourcing. “Don’t Privatize” signs are planted in residential areas.

“The community is not happy,” said Laurel Livingston, a school bus driver and cook.

Added teacher Landon Wilkes: “When times are hard, battle lines are sometimes drawn in the sand. It should be the opposite. People have to work together when times are tough. Let’s work together.”

Steve Augustine, a custodian at the high school, said he views the privatization threat as a way for the district to force additional concessions at the bargaining table. The custodial staff has already endured budget cuts – the crew once included 14.5 employees and now has 10.5, a reduction that has impacted the amount of cleaning and maintenance performed daily, he said. (Under this scenario, district facilities are cleaned 420 hours each week.)

Maple Valley may feel pressured to considering outsourcing because other school districts have done so. The private company bids call for 11.5 employees who work 30 hours daily. (Under this scenario, district facilities would be cleaned 345 hours weekly.)

Augustine worries about the health and safety of Maple Valley children if significantly less time is spent tending to classrooms and buildings.

“We don’t need to have our kids coming home with a staph infection or MRSA (a virus that comes from staph infection),” he said.

Updated: August 31, 2009 12:08 PM