The Valdosta City School District is considering a plan to cut back on spending for custodial services. The move follows rising employee healthcare costs.
The Board of Education recently held a meeting to go over the district’s budget. Watch the full meeting below.
“Benefits will eventually be equal to or more what we’re paying a beginning custodian," Deputy Superintendent Alvin Hudson said.
Hudson asked for the board to consider “outsourcing” the existing custodial staff at Valdosta’s middle school.
Currently, the district is struggling to pay its janitors and keep up with the rising cost of employee health plans. To combat this, Hudson is proposing a plan to replace the middle schools’ current custodial staff, with janitors from a third-party cleaning company.
"Keep in mind that all benefits for custodians, that’s on the local," said Hudson. "We receive no state funding to help offset the cost for that.”
Valdosta High School already has a contract with an outside vendor. By adding another, the district could save even more money on employee health care, workers comp, and retirement-investment plans.
Board member Warren Lee said he can get behind the idea of outsourcing janitors, but thinks any janitors the school keeps on staff, for example at elementary schools, need higher pay.
“That’s poverty salary," said Lee. "I assume this is full time salary, that’s really embarrassing.”
The Valdosta Board of Education agreed in 2021 to raise the minimum wage for custodians from $8.35 an hour to $11--bringing the starting salary for a Valdosta City school janitor, to just over $23,000.
The federal poverty line for a family of three is roughly $26,000.