There's no summer vacation at Chesterfield schools
By Donna C. Gregory

The kids had hardly boarded the buses headed home on the last day of school last June when the schools' custodians and facilities workers swept into action.

"For us, there's certainly no summer vacation, because as the schools are gearing down, we're gearing up," says Carla Mathews, assistant director of Chesterfield Public Schools' facilities services. "There's 7,780,000 square feet of space that has to be cleaned and repaired for the teachers and students to return in the fall. That is the equivalent of 10 family-sized dwellings per custodian to be deep cleaned."

While everyone's focus will mostly be on the opening of Cosby High School this September, the facilities department has been hard at work making improvements at all of the county's schools this summer.

The biggest projects have involved installing new heating and air conditioning systems at Greenfield Elementary School and the Chesterfield Technical Center, and replacing carpeting and tile school-wide at Midlothian Middle, Harrowgate Elementary and Falling Creek Elementary.

The prospect of finally having a new heating and air conditioning system at Greenfield is exciting news for Principal Gale Cushing.

"We had a heating and air conditioning system that was built in 1975 that was no longer functional," explains Cushing. "We dealt with some classrooms that were too cold and some classrooms that were too hot."

The new system is certain to improve the learning environment at the school, she said. Greenfield also received new lighting, a fresh coat of paint and a new performance stage in its cafeteria.

"Anybody that works with children and is in education would tell you that the more attractive a building is, the more conducive it is for learning," explains Cushing. "If nothing else, the new lighting just puts a brighter spin on things, and I definitely think that has an impact on how the instructional day goes. By the time it's all done, it's going to be cleaner, brighter."

While Greenfield is getting a fairly major facelift, all county schools receive some extra care each summer.

"The day the students leave, the custodians start taking the buildings apart," explains Mathews. "They probably move every stick of furniture. They wipe down every desk. All the floors are stripped. Then, they're scrubbed and waxed - they get several coats of wax - and then, they're buffed."

But cleaning floors isn't all that has to be done.

"Every summer, our kitchen crew goes in and basically takes down, cleans and checks all the [cafeteria equipment]," explains Mathews.

It's a laborious task, considering there are more than 100 walk-in freezers and refrigerators alone, and that's not counting all of the stoves, ice machines and other equipment.

Over 500 miles of piping in the county's schools is flushed to check for blockages and drains in every art room and science lab are cleaned. "Every kitchen drain, faucet and water line is checked. Gutter drains outside the buildings are checked. All gas lines and valves are checked. Every fire alarm system is tested and checked as well as every fire extinguisher," adds Mathews.

Heating and air conditioning systems also have to be checked and maintained.

Then there's the $2.9 million worth of new textbooks and 1,000 new desks and chairs that must be distributed to the schools. Instructional supplies are delivered to each school throughout the summer.

This summer, the county will also move 32 trailers to alleviate overcrowding at some schools. "Along with these moves, replacement furniture, electrical hookups, general repairs and steps and ramps must be completed," says Mathews. And the list goes on and on.

And it never ends.

"We get about 15,000 work orders a year, so [our employees] are on constant call," explains Mathews. "It doesn't matter how much preventative maintenance you do during the summer, it's like your own home, something is going to break."

From June 1 through August 1, the facilities department received 2,426 work requests for routine maintenance - that's in addition to the scheduled improvements that were already planned for the summer.

But as the teachers return to school later this month, "We expect that number will start to rise once more people are in the buildings," predicts Mathews. "Our people have plenty to do all year long."