PE16 Obtaining Custodial Services

General Procedures

The principal/building supervisor is responsible for selection, assignment, scheduling, supervision, and evaluation of all custodial personnel assigned to that location and is responsible for the application of disciplinary measures, including termination of custodial personnel when necessary.

Custodial positions are allocated on the basis of a need. The Building Services Department will conduct a survey of work schedules to equitably distribute work among the available custodial FTE’s at each location. The survey takes into account the following: amount of floor space to be maintained, amount of carpeted area, number of lavatories, urinals and commodes, special rooms such as laboratories, physical education areas, and outside areas.

Head custodian positions will be filled in accordance with the provisions of the negotiated agreement.

Administrators at each location are responsible for maintenance and submission of Biweekly Absence Sheets on each custodian from the first day of permanent assignment.

Custodians assigned to more than one location will be treated as though each location is the only assignment.

After-School Use of Custodians

When APS facilities are used after the normal work day and a custodian is desired, the building administrator may coordinate arrangements between the contracting parties. The contract arrangements will be those specified and agreed upon by the parties involved. See procedural directive on Buildings and Grounds.

Overtime and Compensatory Time

Overtime for school custodians must have prior approval from the Chief of Facilities Planning and Operations. Compensatory time may be granted when the overtime use of a custodian is absolutely necessary. The application of compensatory time must be a pre-planned arrangement agreed upon by all parties concerned and should be strictly controlled.

Special Services

The Manager for Housekeeping has a special steam cleaning and sandblasting unit that is available for steam and/or sandblasting of restrooms, cafeteria tables, kitchens, and outside graffiti removal, as necessary. The number for this unit is 765-5950, extension 317.

Substitutes

M&O is responsible for maintaining, training, and managing a pool of substitute custodial personnel. The M&O manager has the responsibility to maintain and submit the Biweekly Absence Sheet for substitute custodians.

Requests for substitute custodians to replace head custodians who are temporarily absent must be made prior to 7:00 a.m. on the day of absence. Substitute custodians to replace other school custodians must be requested prior to 10:00 a.m. on the day of absence. Requests made after the specified times stated above will not be honored. The intent of the pool of substitute custodians is to effectively cover temporary absences and to provide an immediate pool of trained custodians available for permanent placement. The Maintenance and Operations Department maintains a limited pool of hourly substitute custodians for short-term replacement of regular custodians who are absent. Hourly substitute custodians are also used to cover a vacancy until a permanent custodian can be hired.

If the hiring process is not expeditiously pursued, a vacancy may not be filled for an extended period of time resulting in a long-term assignment of a substitute. Consequently, that substitute is not available to cover absences in other schools.

The great demand for substitutes exceeds availability. In an effort to assure fairness in the assignment of substitutes from the pool, the following procedures will apply:

• Maintenance and Operations will provide a substitute for a regular custodian vacancy for two weeks maximum.
• Maintenance and Operations will provide a substitute for a head custodian vacancy for one month maximum.

Assignment priorities are:

1. Custodians at elementary schools with side-by-side programs.
2. Head custodians at elementary schools.
3. Custodians on leave at year round schools.
4. Middle School custodians with side-by-side programs
5. Middle School custodians.
6. High School custodians.
7. Support Services and Regional Office custodians.

NSBA/NEPN Classification: ECD

Revised: May 1995
Revised: April 1996
Revised: May 1997

This page was last updated on: December 9, 2009.