Holly vote privatizes janitors

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-43/1179240648201250.xml&coll=5

Holly vote privatizes janitors
HOLLY
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
By Linda Angelo
[e-mail] • 810.766.6340

HOLLY - After working for the Holly School District for 22 years, custodian Debbie Fischer is out of a job.

The Board of Education on Monday voted unanimously to privatize custodial services, saving an estimated $650,000 in the first year.

For Fischer and 19 other workers, that translates to unemployment.

"I cried for days when I found out they wanted (to privatize), and I couldn't look at the kids," said Fischer, a custodian at Patterson Elementary School. "I didn't know how I was going to tell them I may not be there.

"I made sure the kids' coats were zipped, or if they didn't have mittens, I always had extra mittens. I don't think a company will care about that."

The board outsourced the work after already approving more than $1.4 million in cuts in March to help balance the 2007-08 budget.

FULL story at link.

[elocs]

1. I worked as a janitor last year for our school district.

Yes, they do make good money. Probably as much as a starting teacher, but that simply means that starting teachers should be paid more. I asked one of the custodians that very question--if the city would simply privatize the custodial services in the schools. He said they tried that in a neighboring school district and that the service was so poor that the schools were in terrible shape. He said the district went back to their own dependable custodial employees who provided excellent service and were a part of the school where they worked.