Fox C-6 School District Superintendent Paul Fregeau said a wage change and culture shift has allowed the district to cut back on the number of custodians it uses from an outside company and at the same time cut district costs.
Board of Education members recently agreed to reduce the number of custodial staff members from HES Facilities Management who have been supplementing the school district’s custodial staff. The district had been using 18 HES employees but has reduced that to eight.
The district began using HES staff in October 2023 to help clean its 11 elementary, four middle and two high schools, as well as the Early Childhood Center, Central Office and other buildings.
When Fox C-6 first started using HES employees, it paid the company an annual fee of $887,984.48. That rate increased to an annual cost of $914,624.48 in February when the school board approved a $26,640 cost increase.
When the board voted 5-0 on Oct. 21 to reduce the number of HES employees that Fox C-6 would use, the annual cost dropped to $493,200. Board members Curtiss Frazier and Judy Smith were absent from the meeting.
When Fox C-6 started using HES, the district had 51 full-time custodians and two part-time custodians. The district paid custodians between $14.15 per hour and $19.63 per hour based on experience.
Fox C-6 increased its custodial staff to 53 full-time custodians and one part-time custodian for the 2024-2025 school year, and this year, the district is employing 55 full-time custodians and six part-time custodians, said Nathan Burch, assistant superintendent for human resources.
The district currently pays custodians between $16.83 and $22.31 per hour based on experience and how long the employee has worked for Fox C-6.
“It (the larger number of district custodians) is truly a function of a more competitive wage and a work environment that people enjoy coming to and staying in,” Fregeau said. “(Custodial manager Toni Michalik) has done a great job of building up the culture and climate in her department. Those two factors have led to more retention and make it a little easier to recruit.
“To be frank, when your wages are more competitive, people take a second look at you when they were not looking before.”
While the wage increase is a factor, Fregeau also said he believes employees are happier working at Fox C-6 than they were two years ago.
“I think people are starting to build trust,” he said. “We have had steady leadership as a superintendent and board, and that has led to less change.
“We have made an effort to make people feel valued in a variety of fashions. We have tried to open up channels of communication more to the Central Office so people feel heard. Toni does a great job getting around to people, so they feel cared for and supported.”
Fregeau said Fox C-6 also is recruiting and retaining more employees in support staff roles, such as bus drivers and nutrition services. The district also increased hourly wages for all support staff positions by about $2 over the last two years.
“Everything is better,” he said. “We are not where we want to be, but we are staffed better than we have been in quite a few years.”