Auxiliary Adviser

"Providing Services That Power Education"
Volume 3, Issue 6
March 2003

In This Issue
Maintenance Reorganization
Congratulations
PLAN 2000 Status
National School Building Week
National Nutrition Month
Commitment to Maintenance Excellence
March Training Schedule

Maintenance Reorganization
As a result of the Maintenance and Operations Department's reorganization, over 45 employees should have seen a raise in their last paycheck - retroactive to January. An additional 25 employees are slated to receive salary increases after completing training in the next few months. Those earning an increase have already met with their director and received a letter from the Human Resources Department.

As part of the M&O reorganization, the previous 53 position titles were reduced to 23 by combining job skills. Although job titles changed, and now include a designation of craftsman or master craftsman, the services M&O provides will remain. To learn which category they fit in, employees met with their supervisors and compared the new job descriptions with their skills and past training.

"The new salary structure gives us the flexibility to reward people for their years of experience and training. We can lay out what it takes to get to the next level," said Joe Desormeaux, senior director of maintenance and operations. It also provides flexibility to bring people on at the market rate. In the past, the department had to offer the same salary to someone with one year of experience and someone with 20 years experience. The changes should help improve recruitment and reduce the number of vacancies in the department, said Desormeaux.

Cross training is a major component of the reorganization. For example, a boiler mechanic would train in the areas of refrigeration and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. (These three fields will also combine into one and be known as the HVAC shop.) As an individual completes advanced levels of training, his supervisor submits Personnel Action Forms to move the employee up - a grade at a time - until he reaches the new, designated grade for that position. Employees should complete training within a year.

Money was transferred from collapsed, vacant positions and contract services to fund the salary adjustments. "Increased productivity from multi-tasking, better recruiting, and hopefully, improved job satisfaction, will negate the loss in vacant positions and contract dollars," said Desormeaux. No one was negatively affected by the changes, although employees already at the highest grade did not receive a raise.

During this process, M&O is also expanding the regional maintenance program; improving services to schools by bringing the workforce to the work. Two new regions, under General Services Director Greg Clark, will be added in northern and western Wake County and a central region will open under Bob Bittner, energy and physical plant director.

Five to seven schools form a cluster and four to five clusters make a region. Each cluster has four maintenance people assigned to it: three multi-tasked employees (MTEs) and one area facility manager (AFM).

As the program is expanding, now is the time for employees to decide whether they would like to be a part of that growth. Clark is currently hiring for the northern and western regions, which should be completely staffed by this summer. The central region is scheduled to roll out by the following summer. For some, clusters provide an opportunity to work closer to home, as they are stationed in various schools across the county. Interested employees should discuss the options with their supervisors.

Congratulations
The Board of Education honored Irving Mims, Middle Creek Elementary head custodian, with an Employee Excellence Award at the March 4 meeting. Mims, along with nine other employees were recognized for their hard work and reflecting the community's high standards.

Employees are nominated for the honor and selected by a committee established by Assistant Superintendent Maurice Boswell. At the board meeting, Superintendent Bill McNeal presented the employees to the board and presented each with a plaque as Boswell described the employee's achievements.

PLAN 2000 Status Update
New Schools
· 5 complete (Ballentine, Heritage, and Holly Ridge elementary schools; and Holly Ridge and Reedy Creek middle schools)
· 4 under construction
· 4 in design

Major Improvement Projects
· 4 complete (Athens High, Baucom and Combs elementary schools, Mt. Vernon School)
· 18 under construction
· 12 in design

Systemwide Projects
· 21 complete
· 18 under construction
· 6 in design

PLAN 2000 will add 14 new schools, 35 major improvement projects and 61 systemwide projects. In 2002, WCPSS awarded over $189 million in contracts - with approximately $289 million being awarded to date.

Celebrate National School Building Week
National School Building Week is April 7 - 11, 2003. This is a great opportunity to highlight the Wake County Public School System's innovative facilities and emphasize the important connection between healthy, inviting school buildings and student achievement.

Across the nation, people will recognize the value of well planned, high performing, healthy schools that foster student achievement and provide centers of community. As the building blocks of communities throughout the world and the keystone of our future, schools should be sustainable, healthy spaces for lifelong learning.

To learn more, visit www.cefpi.com.

March is National Nutrition Month®
Healthy Eating, Healthy You
The theme for this year's National Nutrition Month (NNM) is "Healthy Eating, Healthy You." The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. National Nutrition Month '03 teaches us that good nutrition does not require great sacrifice or restriction and that a variety of foods can be a part of healthy eating when consumed in moderation and combined with regular physical activity.

Child Nutrition Services is offering lots of great student learning opportunities for this special celebration of good health! We plan to celebrate by:
· Recognizing National School Breakfast Week March 3-7 with a variety of activities.
· Celebrating good nutrition during March 10-14 with a focus on fresh fruits and vegetables including Washington State Apples.
· Continuing to March 17-21 with Milk, the all American Drink!
· Wrapping up the month long celebration with a focus on our Winner's Circle healthy dining program.

Thank you for helping us make this a great nutrition event for everyone.

Commitment to Maintenance Excellence
In its strong commitment to Maintenance Excellence, the Maintenance and Operations Department adopted several new initiatives that complement existing efforts. Some of the most recent improvements include reorganizing the department, expanding the regional maintenance program, having outside consultants perform a facilities assessment, and establishing focus teams.

To facilitate the initiatives, M&O hired Jeri Preddy as a project manager for energy and physical plant, February 24. Her primary role consists of setting up meetings for the advisory board, preventive maintenance and standard operating procedures teams, bringing in outside consultants if needed, and coordinating the teams so that everyone works together. In addition, she will handle area lighting projects, help manage the utility budget, and assist in projecting utility costs.

"Because of the high expertise and input from our maintenance employees, we are making great progress towards our goals," said Preddy. "The success of this program depends on M&O's knowledge and skills, so we need their input every step of the way."

Ken Mangum leads the Preventive Maintenance Focus Team, which is made up of WCPSS maintenance employees. This group is finalizing job plans as well as preventive maintenance (PM) plans for specific pieces of equipment. Area facility managers in the eastern maintenance region will receive training on these topics March 14, and incorporate the new plans into their schools as a pilot this spring.

Members of the WCPSS maintenance staff also compose the Standard Operating Procedures Focus Team, led by David Brewer. Charged with studying current M&O processes, the team will determine how to align them with standard operating procedures, and decide what training is needed.

Mike Burriss, assistant superintendent for facilities, conducts an Advisory Board of four assistant principals and three maintenance experts from the private industry. This group will evaluate and guide the new efforts to ensure M&O is on the right track.

After the pilot is in place, the focus teams will set up the other regions and establish PM plans for new schools. Looking even further ahead, the teams will address issues such as materials management, and provide additional training for regional facility managers.

Please check this newsletter for progress updates.

Preventive Maintenance Team (Ken Mangum)

John Ballard

Phil Mobley

Ed Stolzenberg

Trent Carter

Steve Meyers

James Wellman

Patty Dwyer

Mike Podobinski

 

 

 

 

Standard Operating Procedures Team (David Brewer)

Tom Filer

Ray Kavaliauskas

James Lassiter

Vicki Gupton

Skip Kelsey

 

 

 

 

Advisory Board (Mike Burriss)

Bill Cooke

Walter Johnson

Rich Kelly

Larry Canterbury

Joe Desormeaux

Floyd Lowman

Linda Lowrance

Rebecca Misner

Al Rager

Stay Informed
The Auxiliary Adviser is e-mailed to subscribers in the school system; and posted on the Intranet, Internet, and Auxiliary Services Tao bulletin board. A hard copy of the Adviser is also posted on bulletin boards in the Maintenance and Facilities Buildings, placed in each maintenance shop's box, and one is sent to the head custodian and child nutrition staff at each school.

To have the newsletter e-mailed to you directly, simply send an e-mail with "subscribe" in the subject line, to kwood@wcpss.net.

Auxiliary Services Division
Vision
Providing Services That Power Education

Mission Statement
Provide quality facilities and support services to ensure safe, healthy, inviting and optimal learning environments.

Goals
1) Recruit, develop and retain a qualified and high quality workforce.
2) Provide and maintain quality facilities and support services that result in a safe and healthy learning environment.
3) Effectively communicate successes, challenges and needs.