As they work to close a massive budget deficit, Chicago Public Schools officials plan to save $40 million by ending all outsourced custodial work and relying on about 500 fewer workers to clean schools this coming school year.
Some 1,250 custodians, all employed by private companies, received layoff notices Friday. CPS said it plans to rehire 750 as district staff. The district also won’t have to pay overhead costs associated with the private companies.
“We still face a $734 million deficit, and these are tough decisions,” said CPS Chief Operating Officer Charles Mayfield.
School district officials said they are trying their best to keep cuts from affecting students. The custodian layoffs are part of $165 million in cuts announced this summer that also include laying off 250 lunchroom workers and about 100 crossing guard positions.
Mayfield said he thinks the district can keep schools clean by shifting custodians’ schedules and using technology to track when classrooms and other spaces are completed.
But the union representing the private custodians is dubious. Genie Kastrup, president of SEIU Local 1, said the union was blindsided when it was told Thursday that all of its custodians will be laid off — the second year in a row that hundreds were fired.
“I just don’t see any scenario that schools can be maintained clean after they have just cut and cut and cut,” Kastrup said. “My one big concern is for our CPS kids and parents, that they’re going to be working in dirty schools and learning in dirty schools.”
Kastrup also worried about the laid-off custodians, who she said become part of the fabric of their schools even if they work for private companies.
Custodians represented by SEIU Local 1 have an average of 12 years of service, she said. The union sent a letter to CPS on Monday asking that longtime custodians get the first shot at getting their jobs back, with the same pay and benefits. Custodians who get positions with the district will have to transfer from SEIU Local 1 to SEIU Local 73, so they will be under a new contract.
Mayfield said the school district is continuing to talk with SEIU Local 1.
While the primary reason for these changes is to save money, ending the contracts with outside custodial companies helps CPS accomplish a goal in its strategic plan of relying less on private firms. The outsourcing of custodial services has been especially controversial.
In 2013, the school district under Mayor Rahm Emanuel hired Aramark to manage district custodial services. The move was supposed to save money while putting new cleaning machines and systems in place. But for years, principals complained about dirty schools and the fact that they did not have any control over the custodial staff.
CPS ended its contract with Aramark last year, bringing the management of custodial services in-house. But the school district continued to use smaller private companies to handle the afternoon and evening shift to clean while students are not in school.
Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter.