When Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins was a student, she loved the custodian who took care of her classroom. This sentiment didn’t change once she grew up and started working in schools.
“As a principal, as a teacher, we all knew who our custodian was,” she said last month. “When you have those teammates in your building, they feel a sense of pride and morale. So, it just helps with the overarching culture, and certainly the cleanliness of a building.”
Currently, MSCS doesn’t have its own custodial staff. It outsourced these services when Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools merged more than a decade ago. But this is something Feagins plans to change, as she wants to bring custodial services back in-house.
“It is a feasible way forward for us,” she said. “And it is certainly something that our principals, teachers, and school-based leaders are certainly advocating for.”
Exactly when MSCS would bring these services back under the MSCS umbrella isn’t clear. Feagins noted that there are currently equipment backorders, and that “you can’t move without the resources needed.”
She also needs to have more discussions with the MSCS board. But it is an avenue she is seriously considering.
“Overall, it is something that we're thinking about,” she said. “I'll have more conversations with board commissioners about the same about the plausibility of moving forward in that direction.”
Who currently handles custodial services?
Right now, MSCS contracts with four cleaning companies: Fresh Start Facility Services Inc., HES Facilities Maintenance, ParCou, and ServiceMaster Clean. And these businesses haven’t shared the work for very long.
In June 2022, the district decided to consolidate custodial services for all its buildings under a four-year contract with just one of these providers, ServiceMaster Clean. But in spring 2023, the district signaled that it might terminate the contract early, and in June of that year, the board directed it to solicit new bids.
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Then, in September 2023, it gave MSCS the green light to divvy up its contract among the four vendors. Each one of them cleans a zone of schools, and the total annual cost for MSCS is $31.6 million.
During a budget community engagement meeting on June 13, Feagins said the district was “earmarking” about $43 million to bring the custodial services back in-house.
“That's at a higher rate so that we can really go out and compete and get the individuals that we need,” she said. “When you feel a part of your school community, you do great work. And I think that's just as simple as that, no matter what your position or title is.”
John Klyce covers education and children's issues for The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at John.klyce@commercialappeal.com.
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