Home Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller Texas School Performance Review Texas School Performance Review ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hays Consolidated Independent School District August 2003 Chapter 5 FACILITIES USE AND MANAGEMENT This chapter reviews the facilities use and management of the Hays Consolidated Independent School District (HCISD) in the following sections: A. Facilities Planning and Construction B. Maintenance C. Custodial Services D. Energy Management E. Community Use of School Facilities /*C. CUSTODIAL SERVICES*/ Most districts schedule custodial duties so that they perform as much work as possible when students are not in classrooms. Custodial tasks performed on a regular basis include: * unlock doors, open windows for ventilation and turn on lights; * set up rooms for special activities; * clean restroom facilities, replace all commodities and make sure dispensers work properly; * clean classrooms, teachers' lounges and other areas; * perform special tasks within the classrooms based upon teacher requests; * move furniture; * dispose of trash; * lock doors and gates, close windows and turn off lights * clean interior walls; * wax floors and clean carpet, and * wash windows and blinds. HCISD principals interview, hire, evaluate and terminate school custodians. They also assign custodians their duties. Until recently, each school purchased cleaning chemicals and custodial supplies and arranged training for their custodians. Now, the Maintenance Department coordinates those tasks and arranges for the repair of custodial cleaning machines, such as vacuums and buffers. The district has also standardized on one brand of custodial chemicals, which means the district can save money by purchasing larger quantities at a lower cost. *FINDING* HCISD's custodial staffing ratio does not meet the industry standards of 20,000 square feet per custodian. The Association of School Business Officials, International (ASBO) bases custodial staffing on an expected average productivity of 2,500 square feet per staff-hour of work, for an eight-hour cleaning period, which equals 20,000 square feet per custodian. *Exhibit 5-19 *showsASBO's work standards for custodial productivity. *Exhibit 5-19 ASBO Custodial Work Standards* Space Service Unit Measure Work Rate Time Classrooms (average size) Routine clean 850 sq. ft. 24 minutes Offices - resilient floor Routine clean 1,000 sq. ft. 24 minutes Offices - carpet Routine clean 1,000 sq. ft. 24 minutes Floors Dust mop 1,000 sq. ft. 12 minutes Damp mop 1,000 sq. ft. 20 minutes Spray buff - daily 1,000 sq. ft. 20 minutes Spray buff - weekly 1,000 sq. ft. 40 minutes Spray buff - monthly 1,000 sq. ft. 120 minutes Light furniture scrub 1,000 sq. ft. 240 minutes Medium furniture scrub 1,000 sq. ft. 300 minutes Heavy furniture scrub 1,000 sq. ft. 400 minutes Bathrooms 3 or less commodes, urinals, and wash basins Each 4.5 minutes More than 3 Each 3 minutes Stairs Damp mop 1 flight 12 minutes Wet mop 1 flight 35 minutes Hand scrub 1 flight 48 minutes Dust handrails 1 flight 2 minutes Dust treads 1 flight 6 minutes Walls Wash 1,000 sq. ft. 210 minutes Wash heavy soil 1,000 sq. ft. 290 minutes Blinds Dust Each 15 minutes Damp dust Each 30 minutes Wash 200 sq. ft. 340 minutes Windows - single pane Wash 1,000 sq. ft. 240 minutes Windows - multi-pane Wash 1,000 sq. ft. 320 minutes Light fixtures - fluorescent Dust 4 ft. 5 minutes Light fixtures - egg crate Wash 4 ft. 40 minutes Light fixtures - open Wash 4 ft. 20 minutes Light fixtures - incandescent Dust Each 5 minutes Light fixtures - incandescent Wash Each 15 minutes /Source: Custodial Methods and Procedures Manual, ASBO, 2000. / *Exhibit 5-20* shows that HCISD's overall ratio of 18,636 square feet per custodian is slightly below the industry standard of 20,000 square feet per custodian. The elementary schools overstaffed with ratios of less than 16,000 square feet per custodian include Buda Elementary and Primary, Elm Grove Elementary and Fuentes Elementary. Overstaffed secondary schools include Hays High School and Dahlstrom Middle School, with ratios less than 18,000 square feet per custodian. *Exhibit 5-20 HCISD Custodial Staffing Compared to Industry Standard 2002-03* Facility (1) Total Square Feet Custodians Square Feet per Custodian (2) Number of Custodians Recommended Over / (Under) Industry Standards *Elementary* Kyle Elementary 96,651 5.0 19,330 5.0 0 Buda Primary Included with Buda Elementary Included with Buda Elementary Included with Buda Elementary Included with Buda Elementary Included with Buda Elementary Buda Elementary 48,481 5.0 9,696 2.5 2.5 Tom Green Elementary 72,284 4.0 18,071 3.5 0.5 Elm Grove Elementary 73,447 5.0 14,689 4.0 1.0 Fuentes Elementary 77,501 5.0 15,500 4.0 1.0 Hemphill Elementary 74,533 4.0 18,633 4.0 0 *Middle School/Junior High* Barton Junior High 141,663 7.0 20,238 7.0 0 Dahlstrom Middle School 114,952 6.5 17,685 6.0 0.5 Wallace Middle School 115,439 6.0 19,240 6.0 0 *High School and Alternative Schools* Hays High School 269,134 15.0 17,942 13.5 1.5 Impact Center/JJAEP 15,225 0.5 30,450 1.0 (0.5) Academy @ Hays 24,108 1.0 24,108 1.0 0 *Other Facilities* Administration Complex 38,850 1.0 38,850 2.0 (1.0) Maintenance and Operations (5) 44,544 0.5 89,088 0.5 0 Kyle Family Learning Center 4,182 - - - - Learning Resource Center (3) 18,957 0.5 37,914 1.0 (0.5) *Total - all facilities* *1,229,952* * 66.0* *18,636* *61.0* *5.0* *Facilities scheduled to open in 2003-04 (4)* *293,422* *0.0* *15.0* /Source: HCISD, director of Maintenance and Operations and ASBO. (1) Total includes portable buildings. (2) Recommended number is based on 20,000 square feet per custodian. (3) This building will no longer be leased beginning 2003-04. (4) Square footage reflects the termination of the lease of the Learning Resource Center for 2003-04. (5) Most of the square footage of the Maintenance and Operations facility does not require custodial cleaning./ *Exhibit 5-21* shows the average number of square feet cleaned by HCISD custodians ranks first compared to selected peers. *Exhibit 5-21 Custodial Staffing Levels HCISD and Peer Districts 2002-03* District Total Square Feet of Facilities Total Number of Custodians Square Feet per Custodian *HCISD* * 1,229,951* * 66* * 18,636* San Marcos 1,023,716 67 15,279 Bastrop 857,644 57 15,046 Lockhart 608,630 43 14,154 /Source: WCL ENTERPRISES, survey of peer districts./ * Recommendation 20: Establish and consistently apply custodial staffing formulas that meet industry standards. * Establishing custodial staffing levels of 20,000 square feet per custodian would save 5 custodial positions. In 2003-04, HCISD will be opening nearly 300,000 square feet of new facilities, which would require hiring 15 new custodians under this ratio. However, since the district has a surplus of 5 custodians, the district would only need to hire an additional 10 custodians. If custodians have already been hired for 2003-04, custodial staffing levels can be reduced as vacancies occur. *IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE* 1. The director of Maintenance and Operations establishes a custodial formula and staffing chart for each school that meets industry standards. October 2003 2. The director of Maintenance and Operations submits the staffing formula and chart to the assistant superintendent for Business and Operations for approval. October 2003 3. The assistant superintendent for Business and Operations and the director of Maintenance and Operations evaluate options concerning implementing the staffing formula and chart. November 2003 4. The superintendent institutes a hiring freeze for custodial positions. December 2003 5. The director of Maintenance and Operations includes custodial staffing requests for 2004-05 based on the new staffing formulas. January 2004 6. The board approves the 2004-05 budget. June 2004 *FISCAL IMPACT* The fiscal impact is based on the average salary of an HCISD custodial of $20,001, plus $3,839 in benefits, composed of $2,715 for insurance and unemployment insurance and 5.62 percent of salaries for worker's compensation, Medicare and retirement benefits ($2,715 + $1,124 {$20,001 x 5.62 percent = $1,124} = $3,839). Not hiring 5 custodians would save $119,200 annually ($23,840 x 5 custodians = $119,200). Instituting a hiring freeze should enable the district to eliminate three custodial positions in 2003-04 and realize $71,520 in savings ($23,840 x 3 custodians = $71,520). Recommendation 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Establish and consistently apply custodial staffing formulas that meet industry standards. $71,520 $119,200 $119,200 $119,200 $119,200 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Susan Combs Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Window on State Government Contact Us Privacy and Security Policy