Cordelia Portman

The Commons at MSHS are cleaned by Randy Woofter, Trevor Paskavich or “Mr. Steve” on Feb. 15. On Nov. 13, 2023, MSHS district leadership hired CCS Facility Services to contribute to custodial needs around the school.

On Nov. 13, 2023, MSHS district leadership hired CCS Facility Services to make up for the lack of custodial staff around the school. CCS is the largest provider of janitorial services in the state of Colorado. After multiple meetings with CCS, and other companies, CCS was selected as a good fit for MSHS janitorial needs.

After multiple months of having open positions to fill in the custodial department, district leadership began to look into other options. “We weren’t getting many applications and we were understaffed,” Stuart Cross, Director of Facilities said. “This put an extra load on our team that wasn’t sustainable and this is when we ended up looking into outside options.”

Cross believes that an outside source is not a permanent solution to the declining applications for janitorial positions. “I think it is important to continue to evaluate our situation and what is best for the district,” Cross said.

Cross hopes that creating a comfortable work environment for those taking these jobs will counter the shortage of workers. “Trades in general are seeing a shortage of workers,” Cross said. “We are hoping to counter that to the best of our ability by creating an enjoyable place to work, where all of the hard work is recognized and celebrated.”

Cross feels that custodial staff is often underappreciated. “It’s hard work, and far too often it is thankless,” Cross said.

Ingrid Perez, a Spanish teacher at MSHS thinks that there are too few custodians to carry out what they are expected to, causing a lack of people desiring the position. “They don’t feel appreciated, and because of the lack of employees they feel overwhelmed with the amount of work they’re given,” Perez said.

Perez also thinks that the school should host more activities or events for the custodial staff. “I don’t think the school takes the time to appreciate the work that they do everyday,” Perez said. “I’ve never heard of a special activity for the custodians to show them how the school appreciates their work and time.”

Perez feels that custodial staff around the school are mistreated considering the work they do. “They spent their time cleaning after us and making sure everything is in optimum condition,” Perez said. “The least I can do is be nice to them.”

Elisabeth Lee, a math teacher, feels similarly. “I feel like they were always doing the best they could,” Lee said. “And it’s tough if they don’t have enough people.”

Lee also feels that students should be more aware of the work they leave for custodians. “I think that students should be thinking about those people when they leave a mess in the classroom,” Lee said. “Somebody else has to come pick that stuff up.”

Lee has witnessed teachers disrespecting custodians as well. “In other schools, teachers speak disrespectfully of the custodial staff as if the custodial staff was their servant or something, and that has always bothered me,” Lee said.

Perez thinks that custodial staff should be appreciated in the same way teachers and students are. “I think that the same way we celebrate the work and effort of teachers and students, during the year, we can definitely take the time to celebrate custodians,” Perez said. “Everyone deserves to feel appreciated.”