By: Cara Latham
WASHINGTON School board officials say they are reaching out to the Washington Township Education Association the union that represents the district’s custodians to discuss the impact on bids the district received from private companies for custodial services.
The board received four bids last month, with All Clean Inc., of Lawrenceville, sending in the lowest bid of $1,799,000, Superintendent Jack Szabo said last week.
District officials previously said the cost-saving move was estimated to save between $200,000 and $250,000 annually if bids came in around $975,000 per year. Superintendent Jack Szabo said last week the bids came in lower than what district officials originally projected, as the $1,799,000 bid from All Clean Inc. covers two years of service.
With the lowest bid, privatizing the services would only cost district officials about $899,500 a year which equals $75,500 in further savings, he added.
Now, if the district does decide to go with privatization, the district could save about $325,000 annually.
Officials had said they would meet with union representatives before any decision is made on whether to privatize the custodial services.
"We’re pleased with the bids," Dr. Szabo said. "We’re looking forward to meeting with the union representatives to see if something could be worked out (to keep the custodial staff). If not, we’ll speak with the board about moving forward with the process."
School officials began discussing the matter in April during the budget process. Bids were sent out in July. The bid specs called for two-year contract beginning Sept.1 with two one-year renewals.
Last month, the board rehired 18 of the district’s 24 custodians to ensure there was a custodial staff in place for coming school year. Board Attorney Matthew Giacobbe said then that some of those not rehired had found other jobs.
Dr. Szabo maintained that no decision on the matter would be made until after school officials meet with the WTEA to discuss the bids. He said officials were trying to schedule a meeting this week with the union.
"We want to see first if we can reach some agreement with the (union)," he said. "But if that isn’t possible, then we would look at moving forward at the next board meeting."
Current and former custodians are opposed to the idea of privatization, saying they feel privatization would hurt the district’s ability to ensure custodial services are done by employees who had accurate background checks.
School officials have said in the past that under privatization, all of the workers for a given company will have to undergo background checks and fingerprinting, like other school district employees.
The bid specs, however, also included a provision that custodians currently employed by the district that are in good standing, "would be considered for a new position in the company," if the board decided to go with privatization, Dr. Szabo said.
Steve Somers, one of the custodians who works at Robbinsville High School, who was rehired last month, said the custodians "all know we’re going to lose our jobs," he said. "Everybody’s running around now trying to look at other places. We know that this other company can’t even match anything that we get."
The average salary of a district custodian is currently $28,840 and includes a benefit package from the district and a pension from the state.
Under privatization, the district-paid benefit package and state pension would dissolve unless the custodian has been employed in the district for more than 10 years. Those on staff fewer than 10 years would be offered benefits and a pension option from whatever company would take over.
He said even though district officials say they haven’t made a decision yet and are waiting to meet with union representatives, "I feel that they already have their minds made up. They think they’re going to save money by bringing in these companies, and find out within a year that it’s not going to work out. They’re going to have to find more custodians and hire them all over again. In the meantime, we’re all out of jobs."
Mr. Somers said he is looking for another job, but fears he may not be able to get a job as a custodian. He may look to work in warehousing, he added.
"This isn’t really the time of year that the schools hire," he said. "Summer’s already over. It’s back to school, and they already have their people."
He said he wasn’t going to seek employment through All Clean, if the school district does go with the bid.

