Custodians in Metro Schools left a hearing Thursday night with little hope of remaining district employees. Their jobs are being outsourced to save money. District officials have other priorities if extra money does become available.
Exactly how Metro Schools spends its $633 million budget is up to the Board of Education, but the Metro Council controls the purse strings. In years past, the council has given extra money to restore specific cuts. Metro Councilmember Kristine LaLonde asked if that would work to keep 600 custodians on the payrolls.
“I want to know, if we added in $6 million to your budget, if we found it somewhere in Metro, would your decision be any different?”
The decision would be up to the Board of Education, which only narrowly approved the outsourcing. But Metro Schools director Jesse Register says there are greater needs.
“This is a tough one for people in the room who are affected by these changes to hear, but I’ve got to say it. This is the third year in a row, this will be the third year without a teacher pay increase. Our teachers no longer are the highest paid in this region.”
Register says he’d also spend extra money on hiring 30 more ELL instructors before stopping the custodian outsourcing plan.
Custodians will be first in line for jobs with the new contractor, but they will get paid less and have their benefits reduced. The starting wage will drop from $10.20 to $9.50 an hour.
School board chair David Fox says there’s been a conscious effort to keep cuts away from the classroom.
“It’s not an enjoyable task to be in a position of making a decision, but I think it’s critical that the school board remain loyal to the mission of ensuring that all of our critical decisions are focused on what’s in the best interest of children.”
Like many in the 40-member body, Councilman Michael Craddock doesn’t like the outsourcing plan, which will reduce the pay and benefits of custodians.
“You know, it is scriptural for us to take care of the least of us. And I really don’t think we’re making a concerted effort to do that.”
The contract with GCA, who will over see custodial work next year, has already been signed. So even if the Metro school board were handed additional money, it’s unclear the district could reverse course.
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