THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501200251
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
New staff
A new management team will oversee custodial services in city schools, officials announced Tuesday.
Eric Hines has been named director of custodial services. Robert Tripp is coordinator of custodial services. Michael Caffee, Marshall Everett, Michael Kenon, James Kerekesh and Mary Merrick will be area supervisors. All were hired from within the school system.
The announcement of the new leaders comes after a tumultuous year for school custodians, who had been placed under the management of a private cleaning firm, ServiceMaster, an Illinois-based company.
Custodians protested management practices that began when ServiceMaster took over, including reducing the number of workers and forcing many to switch from from day to night shifts. The School Board voted in September to sever ties with ServiceMaster, which was under a five-year contract with the system.
Under a revised contract, ServiceMaster gave up custodial management Jan. 1. ``I think we've got a first-class team,'' said John Kalocay, the school system's chief operations officer. ``We feel like we're going to provide a real quality program for our schools,'' said Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette.
Lights are out
School Board member Charles W. Vincent was looking to see his name in lights.
He proposed Tuesday that the school system purchase, for an undetermined amount, a lighted, electronic switchboard, like a scoreboard, to record School Board votes. Board members, when asked to vote on an issue, would throw switch on their desks. A green light would mean a yes vote. A red light would mean no. City Council has a similar system.
Vincent said the board would ``ease confusion, save time and ensure the proper recording of votes.''
He said his vote has been recorded incorrectly in the past, although he did not say when.
Other board members said they did not believe such an expense was warranted. ``It would seem to me that all of this confusion you allude to doesn't exist, unless it's been in the past six months,'' since Vincent and three other new members joined the board after May elections, said board member Robert W. Hall. ``It's an expenditure, no matter how small, that does not contribute one bit to the education of children,'' Hall said.
The board voted 9-1 not to approve the system. Vincent voted in favor of it. Board Chairman James R. Darden was absent. by CNB