More Green OK’d For Grass Cutting

The Board of Education signed off on paying $24,000 to a city landscape contractor to get a head start on cutting grass at school buildings across New Haven before the first day of classes later this month.

Based on how ​“overgrown” so many of the district’s public school campuses were last year, school board member Andrea Downer warned, she’s skeptical this newly paid-for work will actually take place.

Downer raised those concerns about one of New Haven Public Schools’ (NHPS) two landscaping contractors during last Monday’s latest Board of Education meeting, which was held at John S. Martinez School.

The school board voted 6 to 1 — with Downer casting the sole dissenting vote — to approve a $24,000 contract with Cheapscapes. That’s one of two landscaping companies that NHPS contracts to mow lawns at school campuses across the district.

NHPS operations consultant Michael Carter clarified that Monday’s purchase order is designed to cover landscaping at only a portion of NHPS’ schools before the start of the school year on Aug. 29. An NHPS memo described the Cheapscapes contract as ​“request for a bridge purchase order for interim funding while awaiting full contract execution.” Next up, Carter said, is a full school year’s landscaping contract with Cheapscapes, which will cost $100,000 and which will require a separate vote by the school board.

Downer asked district leaders during the meeting how long Cheapscapes has contracted with NHPS to cut grass at the city’s public schools. She said she passed by a number of overgrown school buildings last school year, and is concerned that Cheapscapes isn’t doing the work it’s getting paid for.

The district splits its 41 school buildings’ landscaping work between two contractors, Cheapscapes and Amazon Landscaping.

Joe Barbarotta, a consultant and advisor for Cheapscapes, told the Independent in a follow-up interview that the company did do landscaping for NHPS last year, but only for a portion of the district’s buildings. He said the company received emails from NHPS facilities leads last school year applauding the contractor’s work throughout the year, and has heard of no major concerns from NHPS.

During last Monday’s meeting, because of her concerns with Cheapscapes’ work, Downer suggested the district consider putting the services out for bid.

Board of Education Vice President Matt Wilcox replied that the $24,000 contract up for a vote on Monday is a ​“stop gap measure” due to Cheapscapes’ last full contract having ended on June 30.

Barbarotta told the Independent that, even though Cheapscapes did not have a contract in place with NHPS as of July 1, the company still did some landscaping work before the approved purchase order last Monday.

Board member Edward Joyner said he too has received pictures of schools with incomplete landscaping work and has had concerns of the district’s inspection process. He requested the superintendent designate a member of the staff to verify that landscaping jobs are complete.

Joyner ultimately voted in favor of the $24,000 contract. He said he voted in favor of the purchase order to make sure schools get their grass cut before the start of the year.

Barbarotta, meanwhile, clarified that Cheapscapes does not do landscaping for all NHPS schools. It is only responsible for King-Robinson, Mauro Sheridan, Beecher, Brennan-Rogers, West Rock STREAM Academy, Davis, Dr. Mayo School, Ross Woodward, Bishop Woods, Clinton Avenue School, John Martinez, Conte, Barack Obama School, Barnard, Betsy Ross, Clemente, Hill Central, and ESUMS.

He also noted that the Cheapscapes landscaping contract only includes cutting lawns and string trimming.

Barbarotta said Cheapscapes has had a great relationship with NHPS and keeps to all requests laid out in its contract.

During the school year Cheapscapes’ contract includes doing 12 grass cuts a year. This past school year, he noted, Cheapscapes did a total of 14 cuts to sharpen schools up for graduations and field days.

Barbarotta told the Independent that this past May the district notified Cheapscapes that due to budget concerns it would limit landscaping services to only ​“emergency work” for the end of the year.

Cheapscapes began its start-of-year landscaping work last Thursday, Barbarotta reported, after Monday’s $24,000 vote.

Amazon Landscaping does the work for Hillhouse, Wexler, Nathan Hale, Jepson, 375 Quinnipiac Avenue, the former Grand Ave strong school, Fair Haven Middle, New Haven Academy, Career, Cross, Bassett, FAME, High School in the Community, Sound, Metro, Celentano, Orchard Street Strong School, Edgewood, John Daniels, Riverside, Troup, Worthington Hooker, and East Rock.