Maintenance Department C.I.P.P.

Muskogee Public Schools

Context

History

The maintenance Department for Muskogee Schools started small and has grown with the need to have trained maintenance personnel.  Originally custodians performed most of the maintenance on the schools from grounds to boilers. Teachers would be hired during the summer to perform painting and other needs at each site. Over time more expertise was needed at maintaining the boilers and electrical system on the school.  The district generally hired local electricians and HVAC techs to fill this need.

 

Over time as the equipment got more and more complicated and required special training a small group of maintenance personnel was organized that worked out of the Basement of the Education Service Center in the Baptist Hospital. The team of employees mainly concentrated emergency repairs on an as needed basis the grounds of each site was still done by custodial staff along with other small maintenance items.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The equipment continued to get more complicated and trained licensed personnel were required to work on equipment.  Due to the variety of staffing needed and the limited budget the district decided to hire Service Master for all maintenance service. After a successful year with Service Master the District also decided to hire them for energy management which would help the district reduce cost and improve the profit margin of Service Master.  Service Master decided to turn off the heat at MHS over Christmas break in an effort to save energy. The water lines broke and flooded lower A-unit. The decision was made by the District to put together a District Maintenance Department.

 

M.C. Holderby was hired as the directed and started the process of hiring trained employees for the newly formed Maintenance Department. M.C. Holderby had been a long time Administrator in the district who was going to retire within three years. Mr. Holderby was successful at hiring a Plumber, Electrician, H.V.A.C. Technician and Carpenter to start the department. Other individuals were hires to assist the specific areas and to start the process of moving to a District Maintenance Department.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the retirement of Mr. Holderby, Ed Gibson was hired as Director of Maintenance. Mr. Gibson’s background had been a shop teacher who was active on negotiations who during the summer built houses. Mr. Gibson started the process of putting together a mowing team to maintain the grounds so lawn equipment did not have to be stored at each site. Tractors were purchase with frail mower to go to each site and mow the grounds. During the winter the grounds crew performed other needed projects on school sites.

 

One of the accomplishments Mr. Gibson was starting an evaluation of the roofs in the district. The majority of the facilities had flat roofs which had little or no attention to maintenance. Due to the limited maintenance on the roof and the age of the facilities all school sites were continually plagued by roof leaks. By this time the roof leaks had grown beyond the abilities of a Maintenance Department. Tremco roofing put together a program that was presented to the patrons of the community to get the roofs in shape and paid for through a bond program.

 

Wayne Johnson was hired after the retirement of Mr. Gibson. After a short time on the job Mr. Johnson realized the overwhelming deteriated stat of the facilities and brought this to the superintendent’s attention Dr.  James Christian. Dr Christian informed Mr. Johnson he needed to provide a report that could be presented to the board on a summary of the facilities. On October 10, 1992 a report was presented to the Board of Education containing an evaluation of school facilities. The report contained information about fire sprinkler system not in service, fire alarms not working, structural concerns, and H.V.A.C. concerns. After completing the report to the board the Board approved a resolution to start the process on interviewing Architects who had the abilities to perform a study of the district facilities. The goal of the study was to confirm or deny the findings of the Director of Maintenance.

 

Graber & Imel Architect was hired to begin the study of the facilities. This study included professional mechanical, structural, electrical and civil engineers. After completing the report it confined all the original finds and uncovered other needs as well. A plan was then put together to start an improvement plan utilizing consecutive bond issues to provided the needed revenue to get the facilities in condition.

 

The first Bond issue was presented to the community in 1994 and was passed by a narrow margin. This narrow margin was mainly due the bond issue contained only repair type works no new facilities as had been done in the past. This bond issue did not contain one square foot of additional space but was fully directed at maintaining what the district already had. The projects were completed under budget and with no change orders providing the base of accountability for the funding and the continual need for improvement. This was the start of four consecutive bond issues that saved and changed the facilities of Muskogee Public Schools. (see appendix A1)

In the 1998 Bond issue some addition were put in place to address the needs. A practice Gym at MHS was planned to provide an area for wresting and physical education classes out of the main Gym area. A library and cafeteria expansion was planned at Alice Robertson.  Whittier facility was also starting to be addressed by replacement of some of the older sections of the building which had deteriorated and were not handicapped accessible. Due to the additions and the success and accountability of the past bond issue the community was very supportive.

As the maintenance Department has evolved with needs the department staffing is about the same yet the grounds maintenance has been subcontracted. Due to a State budget crisis 2005 which resulted in district wide reductions in force the grounds crew was cut. Just as a trial the district bid out the mowing of the district. The cost was about the same as hiring enough staff to maintain the grounds over a twelve month period and provide necessary equipment repairs.  We have continued subcontracting the mowing of the facilities but have hired one grounds person to care for those items not in the mowing contracts.

 

In 2007 a Bond proposal of 32 million was put to the patrons to make improvement to the district. This bond issue contained some of the same needs as the past yet it had a vision for the future. No longer was the district in maintaining deteriorating facilities but was able to take the next step and modernization of facilities for the future of Muskogee. Due to the accountability and success of the past bond issues and the vision for the future provided to patrons of the community the bond passed with a record 86.53%.

 

The Maintenance Department currently maintains 1.2 million square feet of buildings (18 total facilities consisting of 28 buildings) including C.N.S. equipment, roofing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, carpentry/masonry, metal work, painting, carpet, fire alarm systems and locks. Work in each of these areas is accomplished by licensed and highly trained craft personnel. The department only has a staffing of eleven personal but is able to maintain a good return rate on processing work orders and needs.

 

Policy and Regulations 

Occupational Safety & Health General Standards Code, OSHA 29 CFR, International Building Code, NFPA Electrical,  NFPA Life Safety Code, International  Mechanical Code, Oklahoma Plumbing Code, Oklahoma Electrical Code, ADA Code, BOCA National Building Code, BOCA Fire Prevention Code and all applicable Oklahoma School Law.

 

Organizational Structure