It appears once again Oxford Community Schools is ahead of the curve when it comes to educational reforms. This time it’s in the area of non-instructional services for students.
Recently, state Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) introduced a series of proposals designed to restructure and downsize government at all levels.
One of those proposed reforms is Senate Bill 1074, which, if approved, would require public school districts to obtain competitive bids ? from for-profit or nonprofit firms, plus existing union employees ? for non-instructional services such as custodial, transportation and food.
The estimated savings of this proposed reform is $200 million to $500 million statewide, which equates to $125 to $313 per pupil, according to www.senate.michigan.gov.
‘I think for us to competitively bid every so often is not a bad idea,? said Oxford Superintendent Dr. William Skilling. ‘I would be opposed to it if it required us to contract those services.?
But Oxford Schools is way ahead of the state Legislature in that the district has already issued a Request for Proposals regarding custodial services and is planning to issue one for transportation services in early March. The custodial bids are due back Monday, Feb. 15.
‘Currently, we are exploring the possibility of contracting our services for both transportation and custodial,? Skilling said. ‘We’ve been exploring it for a year . . . The board can’t make a good decision unless they actually know what the potential savings will be.?
Felicia Hicks, who represents Oxford’s custodial and transportation workers through the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), did not return a phone call and e-mail seeking comment.
The district’s current custodial services budget is about $1.9 million while the transportation budget is about $2.1 million. A total of 27 people are employed doing custodial work, while the transportation department has 45 employees.
The projected savings of using a private contractor for custodial services could be between $550,000 and $600,000 in the first year and by the fifth year, it could be a little more than $900,000 annually, according to the superintendent.