The District 130 school board is set to spend up to $150,000 on an outside custodian contract that its own custodians claim the district does not need.
The District 130 board said the funds would be use to provide immediate additional custodian services to ensure cleanliness during an emergency situation where district facilities are unsanitary, according to the resolution.
But the custodial union, Service Employees International Union Local 73, claimed at the meeting they have photographic evidence of clean facilities and emails from the district administration applauding the custodians work in keeping facilities clean.
The district oversees elementary and middle schools serving Alsip, Blue Island, Crestwood and Robbins.
This resolutions comes as the union and district have attempted to negotiate a contract for more than nine months, without much progress, said Baldwin.
The union called for the removal of the district’s superintendent and assistant superintendent of human resources in October amid negotiations.
SEIU representatives said Tuesday’s actions perpetuate a trend where custodial staff are unheard, ignored and mistreated by district administration.
“The whole thing just feels disconnected from reality, because we go in the buildings, and we don’t see the things they’re talking about,” said Ricky Baldwin, an SEIU assistant director who has negotiated on behalf of members since July.
The resolution authorized the district to use up to $150,000 for immediate custodial services, contracted for no longer than three months.
The board also authorized the administration to solicit bids for a long-term service contract to furnish custodial services for an evening shift or all custodial work.
Since the district announced the emergency facility situation in February, Baldwin said administration reassigned the night shift custodians to the day shift in an effort to address the alleged emergency of unsanitary facilities.
But that schedule shift caused a few people to quit, Baldwin said.
Baldwin also said district custodians are understaffed, supplied with broken or old equipment, have been denied language interpreters during meetings and are in general talked down to by administrative staff.
A custodian for Veterans Memorial Middle School in Blue Island was also charged and released from custody in March after a school administrator reported her for wage theft to Blue Island police. The custodial union protested the charges.
The school board said it pursued the private contract because they could not reach an agreement with the union about the emergency facility conditions during the ongoing bargaining, according to the resolution.
The resolution said the need for emergency custodial services was unforeseen through no fault of the board or district and that the immediate cleaning is necessary to protect the health and safety of students, staff and community.
The district also stated the contract for outside help will not lead to a reduction in staff.
District officials did not respond to multiple requests to comment.
The school board also elected in a 4-2 vote to remove Sara Kaliski-Roll as board president, replacing her with Nicole Martinez.
awright@chicagotribune.com
