Rochester

Rochester Schools eyes outsourcing custodial, transportation, other services

By Mary Beth Almond
C & G Staff Writer

Preliminary estimates show that outsourcing some non-instructional school services could save the Rochester Community Schools district more than $2 million annually — a number that the Board of Education isn’t taking lightly.

RCS Superintendent Fred Clarke said the investigation into outsourcing non-instructional school services beginning with the 2012-2013 school year is due to the ongoing budget deficit the district faces. Last year, he said, the deficit started out at around $14 million, and early projections show an approximately $12.4 million deficit this year.

“It’s unfortunate that we are still trying to fund our schools at the 2006 level of revenue. We are still struggling to maintain the high level of academic achievement and programs that we have in place that we know make Rochester such a wonderful place to be for our children. With that said, we have to, unfortunately, look at other avenues and ways in which to see, or explore, if there are ways to save money to minimize that impact ultimately on the classroom as much as possible,” he said.

On Jan. 23, the board unanimously approved a resolution directing administrators to issue a request for proposals for potential outsourcing of non-instructional work, including custodial operations, transportation services, partial grounds services and parking lot attendants. The existing bargaining groups will also receive the RFP.

Clarke stressed that the move is simply an exploration of outsourcing in order to be fiscally responsible and does not mean that outsourcing is necessarily going to happen in the future.

“It’s something that we, unfortunately, have to do. It’s not something that I’m greatly in favor of, because it affects a lot of people. You really have to take a look at what the impact is, and minimize that impact on the children as much as possible, but at the same time, we have to be fiscally responsible and look at these things to determine how do we best survive this economic storm that we find ourselves in,” he said.

Various board members echoed Clarke’s comments.

“In moving this forward, what I’m looking for is information so that we can have an intelligent discussion about this, rather than a hypothetical discussion,” Trustee Beth Talbert said. “It will be a challenge for someone to match the level of service we currently receive.”

Trustee Chuck Coutteau said the move is a measure to get some understanding of the market in terms of fact-finding.

“This doesn’t mean that we’ve made the decision to, in fact, proceed and award a contract to someone else … for the services,” he added.

Various members of the “Blue Group” bargaining unit, which includes RCS custodians and bus drivers, spoke out against the move during the meeting.

Bus driver Richard Hall, who has worked for RCS for the past five years and has been a resident of the district since 1963, invited the board to do a ride along with him to see how he and the other bus drivers interact with the students.

“I love my job,” he said. “I ask that when the proposals for transportation services (are brought forward) for your review, you look at more than just the bottom line. Bottom line shouldn’t be the final say.”

Jason Grant, chapter chair of the Blue Group, said he is “very disappointed” with the direction the board has gone.

“Three years ago, this group sacrificed $3 million to continue to work for this district, which is an average of $10,000 per employee. I completely understand the board has to find ways to save money, but how many times does it have to be on the backs of the Blue Group?” he said.
The plan is to have the RFP information before the current labor union contract for those services expires on June 30, according to the tentative timeline. The advertisement of the RFP was published by Jan. 26, and was made available to all potential venders, including the current bargaining groups, by Jan. 27. Proposals were to be submitted by Feb. 29. Venders were to be interviewed the week of March 5, and school officials were to go on site visits the week of March 12. The tentative timeline shows that administrators will make a presentation to the board summarizing all the bids collected March 26, and administrators were scheduled to make a recommendation to the board April 16.

Through the School Aid Bill, the state has said that seeking competitive bids for non-instructional services valued at $50,000 or more annually is one of five “best fiscal practices” for K-12 public school districts.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Mary Beth Almond at malmond@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1060.