District 99 plan to outsource custodial services met with questions, criticism

Members of Community High School District 99’s custodial, maintenance and grounds team were joined by faculty members and parents at Monday’s school board meeting to protest a plan to privatize CMG services.

The plan calls for the district to contract with SSC Service Solutions to provide custodial and maintenance services in addition to managing supply purchases and overseeing training.

SSC has agreed to hire all members of the District 99 CMG staff at their current rate of pay with similar benefits and without an interview. Staff cannot be released without cause. The stipulations were necessary for District 99 to consider the proposal, school board president Don Renner said.

The plan calls for District 99 to enter into a five-year contract with SSC Services with the option to extend the contract for up to 10 years.

“This proposal should not be seen as an indication that we are not satisfied with the service that we are being provided by our dedicated CMG staff and administrative team leading this department,” Superintendent Hank Thiele said in a statement read at the meeting.

“I see this as an opportunity for both the district and CMG employees to enter into a model that will provide opportunities for efficiencies, additional training and resources career advancement pathways for our staff and cost savings to the district.”

Thiele did not specify the amount of money the district would save as a result of a transition to a private firm.

The school board will discuss the matter again at its April 7 meeting and a public hearing will be held April 21 at which time a recommendation will made to the board. If approved, the agreement would take effect July 1.

School board member Terry Pavesich said she was unlikely to support the proposal.

“I have several things that I’m a little unhappy about and one is our relationship with our CMG staff and our students and teachers,” Pavesich said. “You know, sometimes students are in crisis or whatever and sometimes our CMG staff is that person that sees that and can take care of that and I don’t know that if we bring in a third party to do this that they’re going to be able to develop those relationships that are already out there.

“It’s going to be very difficult for me stand behind this project.”

School board member Chris Espinoza voiced concerns about the timing of the proposal.

“I also think that this seems like a very rushed process and I recognize that you brought it to us to talk about and to discuss all these things, but I don’t think that there was enough time to take into consideration CMG staff opinions on the matter prior to releasing a wider statement to the district as a whole. I think that’s what should have happened,” Espinoza said.

Thiele disagreed saying there have been numerous opportunities for CMG staff to ask questions and voice concerns.

“I will tell you, look at any school district in the area that has moved this way,” Thiele said. “They release a bid, they accept that bid and they move forward. Employees don’t have the opportunity to provide input and to understand the impact of that. We have gone well beyond the industry standard for considering this as an option.”

Frank Ross, the father of two boys who will attend Downers Grove South, said the board should reject the plan.

“I’m here to speak for the good jobs that are in that school building and are being threatened by turning CMG duties over to a corporation,” Ross said. “Please don’t do it. This is a community that wants those good jobs and benefits left intact. A community that is more interested in people than profits.”

Donald Glass, a CMG staff member and a Downers Grove resident, questioned specific savings related to the plan.

“It’s not clear to me how this is working,” Glass said. “The board charges the superintendent with finding savings and then the superintendent finds savings. Well, how much savings are we talking about? How long have we been looking for savings? What else has been looked at for finding savings besides CMG? They’ve been looking at CMG for 10 years. What else has been looked at in those 10 years?”