Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 1

Kelly’s Comments

S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 I S S U E 1 0

DA TES TO

REMEMBER

March 21-28—Spring

Break for Students/Teachers

March 24 & 25 —

Spring Break

April 18—No

School—Teacher Workday

May 23 & 24 — Shoe

Truck Available

May 30 — Memorial

Day Holiday

June 2 — CATS Meeting

June 17—LAST DAY

OF SCHOOL!

Office of Facilities Services

Custodial Services Newsletter

INSID E THIS

ISSUE

CATS Meeting

Safety Shoes for

Employees ONLY

Summer Overtime

Custodial Equip-

ment Repair

Summer Restora-

tion and Checklist

Safety Footwear

Snow Pros

Tractor Cleaning

Bleacher Upkeep

Custodial Manager

Trainee Graduates

Unapproved

Chemicals

Classified Personnel

Regulations

Staff Contacts

Online Forms

As the temperatures rise and tree

buds are opening, it is my hope

we have finally seen the last of

the snowfall for this year. It has

been a very trying time for all

Support Services this winter

with the region receiving an his-

toric snow fall of over three feet

with just one storm. It has been

many winters since Prince Wil-

liam County Public Schools

(PWCS) has received such a

large accumulation of snow from

one storm.

I am proud to say that working

together as a team, Facilities

Services and Custodial Services

were able to have PWCS back

up and ready for school in just

five days. It took most of our

surrounding jurisdictions much

longer to reopen. Dr. Walts

made sure to praise and thank us

at the last CATS meeting held

on February 11th. See pictures

of the snow removal efforts on

page 7 of this newsletter.

Now, as we enter into the final

stretch of the school year, the

custodial staff of PWCS once

again has done an outstanding

job of providing the students and

staff with a safe, clean and well-

maintained learning environ-

ment. While the certified and

support staff look forward to

their summer break, our custodi-

al staff will be gearing up for

their school’s summer restora-

tion. Please ensure to inspect all

of the custodial equipment that

will be utilized for this process.

If you find any equipment that is

not working properly, please

place a work order to the Custo-

dial Equipment Repair Shop to

have the issue addressed. As my

Papaw always said “a carpenter

is only as good as his tools”.

Please ensure that your “tools”

are operating properly.

If you have any questions or

concerns that might arise during

the summer restoration period,

please do not hesitate to contact

the Quality Assurance Special-

ists or myself.

I appreciate everyone’s hard

work this year that contributes to

our Division’s outstanding repu-

tation for cleanliness throughout

the state of Virginia. Your dedi-

cation to ensuring that our stu-

dents and staff have clean facili-

ties to receive their “World

Class” education is greatly ap-

preciated.

Sincerely,

Kelly R. Rice

Administrative Coordinator

We hope you enjoy our 10th issue of the Custodial

Services newsletter. Please

print this newsletter and share it with your entire

custodial staff.

Kelly R. Rice,

Administrative Coordinator

To view the minutes from the February 11, 2016 CATS

meeting, please

CLICK HERE.

Custodial Advisory Training Session (CATS)

June 2, 2016

The Office of Custodial Services is holding its quarterly Custodial Advisory Train-

ing Session (CATS) for ALL custodial managers Divisionwide on Thursday, June 2,

2016 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Building 51, room 140, 14800 Joplin Road, Manassas.

Please plan to attend this informative meeting. Check-in begins at 12:30 p.m.

Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 2

Safety Shoes Provided for Employees ONLY

The Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company will be available in May for employee’s wishing to purchase a pair of

safety shoes. Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company offers a wide range of safety shoes for purchase. Their mobile

truck will be at the following two High Schools in May:

Monday, May 23, 2016 - Stonewall Jackson HS, 10 a.m.—5p.m.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016 - Forest Park HS, 10 a.m.—5 p.m.

Purchase orders will be accepted as payment. Custodians are allotted one pair of safety shoes annually if re-

quired, not to exceed $100.00 from their respective school.

Last November when the shoe truck visited PWCS, it was discovered that some custodial personnel had pur-

chased shoes not for themselves, but for family members. These shoes should only be purchased for use by

the custodial employee.

Purchasing shoes for anyone other than yourself is considered fraud.

Any employee who is discovered to have purchased shoes for someone other than themselves will be held

liable and disciplinary action will be taken against the employee up to and including recommendation for dis-

missal.

The Office of Facilities Services (OFS) and the Office of Risk Management and Security Services have met

with Saf-Gard Safety Shoe Company about this infraction. In the future, all custodial employees will be meas-

ured and fitted for shoes by the vendor. No shoe will be sold to the employee if the size of the shoe wishing to

be purchased does not properly fit their foot. The employee will be denied service and their name will be for-

warded to OFS.

Also as a reminder, all custodial employees signed the annual “Custodial Employee Safety Agreement

Acknowledgement” in September of 2015. The acknowledgement stated the employee will wear the required

Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) while in the workplace which must be done in accordance to Regulation

403.08-1. Please ensure that you adhere to this regulation and wear all required PPE while in the workplace,

which includes your safety shoes.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Mr. Kelly R. Rice at 703.791.7220.

LOOKING FOR OVERTIME WORK THIS SUMMER?

This summer, the Office of Facilities Services (OFS) will be in the process of opening Colgan High School and

Wilson Elementary School. There will also be several schools that will be under renovation during this time. If

you are interested in working overtime this summer, please contact Ms. Kathy Snow at 703.791.7220. An email

will be sent out in early June with all information and details.

As a reminder, you must physically work 40 hours before your overtime rate will be paid. If you take leave at

your current work site during the week, you will only receive your regular pay rate for hours worked on the

weekends and evenings for OFS.

Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 3

Many advancements in the past several years with custodial equipment have made your job more efficient and less

time-consuming. No longer do custodial personnel have to clean large hard-floor areas utilizing a mop and bucket.

For example, PWCS now utilizes automatic scrubbing machines, Wet/Dry Vacuums help with the stripping and

refinishing of floors, battery-powered burnishers keep a high sheen on our floors, and Genie lifts have taken the

place of some ladders.

Along with all of this new equipment comes the responsibility of proper care and usage of

the equipment. Recently, there have been issues with staff not properly cleaning equipment,

or not using it properly. At one school the operator of an automatic scrubber ran over P.E.

equipment balls that were sucked up into the machine causing damage and putting the ma-

chine out of order.

Wet/Dry vacuums have been stored before being properly cleaned causing the machine’s mo-

tor to burn up and stop working. Cords to machines have had ground prongs removed which

could cause serious injury to the operator. There have been several instances where cleaning

pads have not been changed on a regular basis, causing dirt to just be moved instead of re-

moved from floors. Damage has been caused to cleaning equipment from lack of proper care,

costing schools hundreds of dollars in repair costs. This is unacceptable, especially in these

tight budgetary times.

This equipment has to be properly maintained and cleaned to ensure that you are able to do your job in the most

efficient manner. DO ensure that you perform daily inspections of your equipment and ensure that it is properly

being cleaned and maintained at the end of your work shift.

DO put in a work order to the Custodial Equipment Repair Shop if a piece of equipment needs repair s. A

separate work order must be submitted for each piece of equipment with the tag # and/or serial # included. If the

equipment is not working make sure to “Lockout/Tag Out” the equipment to ensure that no one mistakenly tries to

use the equipment and gets injured.

DO NOT wait until all of one type of equipment is broken before you put in a work order . When that last

piece of equipment then stops working and you have to stop working as well, you are no longer working efficient-

ly.

DO NOT try to work on the custodial equipment yourself. This can cause fur ther damage to the equipment,

if not done properly, and will void the warranty of the equipment. Only trained, certified staff should make any

repairs to the equipment. Only the technicians of the Custodial Equipment Repair Shop have these certifications.

Making sure that the equipment is in safe operating condition will protect you from injuries. This is of the utmost

importance to PWCS. Your dedication to doing your part to help keep the equipment in good working order is

greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions regarding the custodial equipment of your school, please contact the Custodial Equip-

ment Repair Shop at 703.791.7219.

As a reminder, any custodial equipment that is battery or electrical powered is addressed by the Custodial Equip-

ment Repair Shop. If it is outside equipment that is powered by gas/diesel such as tractors, weed eaters, blowers,

etc., the work order should be submitted to the Small Engine Shop.

Custodial Equipment Repair -

Dos and Don’ts

Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 4

Recommendations

Preparing for Summer Restoration

This summer there will be 49 available days for custodians to complete the summer

cleaning restoration. In order to complete the summer cleaning restoration on time,

we recommended the following suggestions:

1. Recommend that the administrator and custodial manager look closely at leave requests during this pe-

riod. If possible, schedule leave beginning the second week of August; most summer restoration at this

point should be complete.

2. Schools with SACC program. Speak with the principal to ask if they will give a building key to the

SACC supervisor to allow them to open the building for the SACC program allowing custodians more

productive time to perform summer cleaning.

3. Substitute custodians that are provided to work at the Central Summer Schools should begin their

assignments on the same day the summer school programs begin.

4. Reminder to administrators/custodial managers the importance of preventing accidents. Recommend

providing safety footwear for the custodians that will be working in the floor finish restoration process.

See page 6 of newsletter for ordering these low cost safety footwear.

5. Optimize all your time by avoiding gaps, no productive time, or long breaks. Lunch break is 30

minutes.

6. Ask your administrator to remind all staff and teachers to transport their personal items themselves.

7. In areas of the school that are occupied with summer activities, it is recommended that custodial staff

change their daily schedule to accommodate these activities, in order to utilize their shift.

8. Do not strip or apply floor finish to the rooms that are being used for summer school until after summer

school is over. Coordinate with the summer school principal for a list of rooms that will be used for

summer school.

9. Each custodial manager must inform/train new and substitute custodians where they need to dispose all

liquids and how to properly clean custodial equipment. (Do not dispose any liquid or debris in storm

drains. Do not clean any custodial equipment outside the school building.)

10. Do not impede egress to exit doors during summer restoration.

11. Reminder to all custodians that you are not allowed/authorized to bring any friend or relative to help

you in your custodial duties.

12. Reminder to all custodial personnel to wear your issued photo I.D. badge at all times while on PWCS

property. Also, ensure that the substitute custodians wear their time sensitive ID badges.

Questions or concerns? Contact our Quality Assurance Specialists:

José Salmeron, 703.791.8360; Maria Ibarra, 703.791.8791; or Susan Pieper, 703.791.8047

Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 5

Prince William County Schools - Office of Facilities Services

Recommended Checklist for Custodial Managers

Cleaning Restoration Program for Summer 2016

Check if your custodial equipment/machines are working correctly before summer restoration begins.

Carpet cleaning is not recommended during the summer. Spot cleaning is okay.

Must work together as a team.

Move /shake the pails of floor finish before beginning to use.

No floor finish on baseboards.

No floor finish on rubber ramps.

No floor finish on steps and bathrooms where the floor has ceramic floor tile.

Do not use gas/electric powered pressure washers to clean walls and furniture.

No water hoses used inside buildings.

Do not leave stripper solution on floor for extended period of time. (Never leave a wet floor when you are going

to take a break.)

Apply proper number of coats of floor finish on floors to protect the tile for longer time period. Five (5) coats are

recommended in classrooms & six (6) or more in cafeterias and heavy traffic areas.

Keep floor finish clean while in use.

Use a clean or new wet mop or clean pads on floor finish applicator to apply the floor finish.

Apply floor finish smoothly, without streaking, using the appropriate wet mop. (Recommend using a fiber rayon

wet mop.)

Don’t use stripper solution to restore Fritz or Terrazzo tile (neutral cleaning only).

When restoring/removing the old floor finish in trailers/modular trailers, this must be done with special care

because if too much water or stripper solution is used, it may cause tiles to separate from the sub floor.

Don’t apply floor finish on door transition strips.

Make a quick inspection of tile floors before applying floor finish: remove pieces of tape, staples, pieces of mop

strings, small debris, hairs, etc.

Use clean rags with appropriate cleaner to clean tops of student desks, furniture, etc. (Don’t use paper towels to

clean furniture).

It is recommended sectioning no more than a 500 square foot area with stripper solution at a time (leave the solu-

tion to work for 12 to 15 minutes before using the utility machine to strip the floor). See vendor recommendations.

Recommend using Stripping Traction Shoes or Strap on Soles for shoes to improve safety & efficiency while

stripping floors. See page 6 of newsletter for ordering information.

Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 6

Mopping or Stripping Floors ?

Safety Footwear Can Reduce the Risk of Slipping

Custodians are encouraged to wear footwear that provide additional traction and helps prevent slips and

falls while stripping or mopping floors. Having the security of additional shoe traction affords the op-

portunity to work more quickly and with confidence. PAWS Traction Stripping Shoes are designed to

reduce the slips and falls associated with stripping floors. There are three different designs to suit each

use and budget. Please consider purchasing safety footwear to aid you in your workplace.

For ordering information contact: Treds and Paws Footwear, Advantage Products Corporation

at 513.489.2283 or visit the Treds.com website.

PAWS Super-Stripper Traction Strap-on Soles—Best Traction—

$12.50

Excellent super-stripper traction for floor strippers. Use while stripping or

mopping floors. Pulls on and off easily. Rinse and reuse.

One Size Fits All

PAWS Vinyl Stripping Shoes—$12.50

Heavy duty vinyl shoe cover protects your shoes while the aggressive pad

helps prevent slips and falls.

Sizes available: Large and Extra-Large

PAWS RED Stripping Shoes—Great Durability—$20.00

Spaghetti-loop material has thousands of contact points for excellent trac-

tion while stripping or mopping floors. Does not have the same “scuff”

power as the PAWS Black, but offers great durability.

One Size Fits All

It is highly recommended to purchase these safety footwear products while performing

summer restoration projects at your school especially during the floor refinishing process.

Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 7

SNOW REMOVAL PROS! Photos from Blizzard 2016 and how you cleaned it up!

After a record snowfall in January, PWCS custodial staff responded in a big way!

OFS is currently per-

forming preventative

maintenance on gym

bleachers. Some

are dusty and have

trash under them. The

dust causes the drive

wheels to slip and the

trash can get caught up in the frame wheels making

the bleachers kick sideways.

OFS’ annual bleacher inspections occur in March

on exterior and interior bleachers. Any help on

maintaining this equipment is greatly appreciated.

- Lewis Propps, Carpenter Shop Crew Chief

N ow that all the

snow is gone for

this year, please

make sure that any ice melt

residue in the tractor’s floor

area is washed off as soon

as possible. Leaving ice

melt on the metal surface will accelerate

the rusting of the surface.

Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 8

CUSTODIAL MANAGER TRAINING

GRADUATES!

Custodial Manager Training is offered twice per year and is open to any current PWCS Custodial

employee who is interested in attending. The training takes place for two hours once a week for

seven weeks. The trainees learn all aspects and requirements to perform the manager’s job. This

training is offered by our stellar Quality Assurance Specialists.

Please call any of our Quality Assurance Specialists if you’re interested in attending:

José Salmeron, 703.791.8360; Maria Ibarra, 703.791.8791; or Susan Pieper, 703.791.8047.

Graduation photo taken November 12, 2015.

Front Row (left to right): Jorge Chevez—Fred Lynn MS, Guadalupe Maroni—

Woodbridge HS, Marta Bonilla—Victory ES, Miguel Quintanilla—Mountain View ES,

Amphone Liammaytry—Neabsco ES, Barbara Gilbert—Potomac MS, Susan Pieper—

QAS

Back Row (left to right): Maria Ibarra—QAS, Jose Salmeron—QAS, Michael

Kwarteng—Freedom HS, Ryan Sanders—Ronald Reagan MS, Juan Lopez—Battlefield

HS, Jackeline Aranda—The Nokesville School, Nyoka Phillips—River Oaks ES

Unapproved Cleaning Chemicals in Schools This Fiscal Year, there have been vendors that have been contacting schools directly in the hopes of getting

the school to purchase their products. As a reminder, in accordance with Regulation 410.03-5, only clean-

ing chemicals that are on PWCS’ Master Agreement or approved by the Office of Facilities Services (OFS)

may be utilized in any of our PWCS facilities.

If you or your school is contacted by a vendor, please direct them to contact Mr. Kelly R. Rice in OFS.

Schools should never purchase any cleaning chemicals from outside vendors and should only use cleaning

chemicals that are purchased from Supply Services.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Mr. Kelly R. Rice at 703.791.7220.

Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 9

Staff Contacts

Rodney Clayborn, Supervisor, Facilities Management

Christine Honeycutt, Secretary, 703.791.7222

Kelly Rice, Administrative Coordinator

Kathy Snow, Secretary, 703.791.7220

Jennifer Morrow, Custodian Substitute Specialist, 703.791.8361

Custodial Field Crew

Quality Assurance Team Mitchell Archer, Crew Chief Filter Replacement Crew

José Salmeron, 703.791.8360 703.791.7841 Henry Hill, 703.791.8864

Maria Ibarra, 703.791.8791

Susan Pieper, 703.791.8047 Custodial Equipment Repair

Charles Kendall, 703.791.7219

We are on the web

www.pwcs.edu

Regulation Corner

For Classified Personnel

500 Series

Classified personnel are encouraged to review the following PWCS Regulations. All regulations can be

found on the web at pwcs.edu. Links are provided for the following regulations:

Regulation 503.02-1 Code of Conduct

Regulation 507.01-1 Sexual Harassment Involving Employees

Regulation 508.02-1 Procedures for Adjusting Grievances For Administrative and

Classified Employees

Regulation 526-1 Overtime and Compensatory Time Provisions

Regulation 552.01-1 Probationary Period

Regulation 561.01-2 Children of Staff in School Division Buildings

Regulation 561.05-1 Complaints Against Employees Other Than

Discrimination or Grievances

Regulation 563-1 Workweek

Everything you do makes a difference!

I S S U E 1 0 S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 P A G E 1 0

Effective September 15, 2015, PWCS’ current custodial employees who are requesting a transfer to

another work site must begin using the new Custodial Services Transfer Request Form to submit

these requests. This form will need to be resubmitted at the beginning of each fiscal year (July 1) by

the custodial employee if they wish to remain on the transfer list.

The new Substitute Evaluation Form is also available for submission by custodial managers.

Both forms can be found on the Facilities Services web page under the “Custodial Services” tab,

choose Custodial Services Forms.

Usage of these online forms is required beginning immediately to help Facilities Services serve you

better. Transfer requests will no longer be accepted via email or phone call. Questions? Please call

Custodial Services at 703.791.7220.

Custodial Transfer Form and

Substitute Evaluation Form

School Board

Mr. Ryan Sawyers

Chairman

Mrs. Lillie G. Jessie

Vice Chairman

Occoquan District

Mr. William J. Deutsch Mr. Gil Trenum

Coles District Brentsville District

Ms. Diane L. Raulston Mr. Justin David Wilk

Neabsco District Potomac District

Mrs. Alyson A. Satterwhite Ms. Loree Y. Williams

Gainesville District Woodbridge District

Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Steven L. Walts

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) does not discriminate in employment or in its educational programs and activities against

qualified individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, veteran

status, or disability. PWCS provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following individual will

handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, including Section 504 and Title IX:

Associate Superintendent for Human Resources

Prince William County Public Schools, P.O. Box 389, Manassas, VA 20108