Stafford County residents voiced support for school custodians as the contractor hired to clean school buildings is cutting ties with the school division.
During a recent Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting, residents used the meeting’s public comment time to offer support for school custodians whose jobs are on the line after an announcement by ABM Industries canceling its contract with the schools.
“For the last year, we’ve raised our voices in support of needed changes for custodial workers in your public schools. We celebrate the cancelation of the contract between ABM. This corporation hires and manages the workers and the school district,” said Patricia Smith, a representative of the Fredericksburg chapter of Virginia Organizing.
Smith said the county should hire the custodial workers as a way to offer transparency when it comes to worker compensation. Smith also stated that such action would prevent exploitation of the custodial staff, and the county school board was given authority for oversight.
Nancy Reeder of North Stafford is a former school counselor who had worked in the county schools for 23 years. Reeder also agreed that the county should take the reins of hiring the school custodians while acknowledging it would be a difficult matter.
“They are a part of our school community, they interact with our children, and they come in and clean up after them. We really do need to take care of them as citizens,” said Reeder.
Employees of the Maryland-based management firm spoke at a Stafford County School Board earlier this year, where over a dozen of them related stories of alleged mistreatment at the hands of ABM. Among those was a demand from the company to report to work during a snowstorm that stranded commuters and cut power to thousands of homes in January 2022, employees claimed.
A request made by Stafford County Public Schools via a press release in late August announced that the system is currently searching for custodial services after its contract with ABM had been canceled.
On August 22, ABM sent a letter informing the school system that they would terminate the contract between the two parties. No reason was given in the letter for the termination. Potomac Local News attempted to contact ABM on this matter but has received no response.
The school system signed its previous contract with ABM in June 2020 and amended it in April 2022.
“The School Board and I want to reassure the custodians working in our schools that they are valued by the school system,” stated Stafford Superintendent Dr. Thomas W. Taylor in the press release. “This Notice of Cancellation does not reflect the school system’s view of the work ethic of the custodians.”
ABM will continue to provide custodial services to Stafford County Schools until the official cancelation date on December 20.
