Superintendent criticizes cleanliness of Muscogee County schools

Three weeks ago, the Ledger-Enquirer reported the Muscogee County School District had backed off its proposal to, as operations chief David Goldberg put it, “radically change” who cleans the schools because, he said, “the climate just isn’t conducive right now to bring a systemic change like that.”

But the controversial proposal was debated again, this time more contentiously, during the school board’s work session Monday – and it prompted board chairwoman Pat Hugley Green of District 1 to chastise Goldberg, who apologized, and even superintendent David Lewis to criticize the overall condition of MCSD schools.

The administration proposed in February to consolidate the four contracts MCSD has with janitorial service companies into one contract for outsourced custodians. The proposal would have moved MCSD employees working as custodians at the 32 elementary schools to the 12 middle schools and nine high schools, and the contracted custodians would have been placed at all the elementary schools.

The administration emphasized that no current MCSD custodians would lose their jobs, although many would be relocated. The problems the administration is trying to solve, Goldberg explained during his February presentation, are the communication breakdowns causing poor service and the responsibility arguments amid the tangle of dealing with four companies as well as MCSD’s own employees. This is especially challenging at schools served by a mix of employed and contracted custodians, Goldberg said.

At the board’s March 27 meeting, Mathews Elementary School PTA treasurer Alecia Cravey and retired Mathews teacher Kathy Gierer made passionate pleas against the proposal, arguing custodians Cleo Smith and Joe Brown should not be moved after a combined 58 years working at the school. Cravey noted nearly 750 folks signed an online petition to support their objection.

According to the original timeline, the MCSD administration was supposed to bring to the board during the April 17 meeting its recommendation to hire the one contractor for outsourced custodians. But that item wasn’t on the agenda, so the Ledger-Enquirer asked Goldberg why before the meeting.

“Sometimes you’ve got to step back and punt to get a better strategic position,” Goldberg said.

All of which led to District 4 representative Naomi Buckner reviving the issue 3 hours and 20 minutes into Monday’s work session when she asked essentially the same question. This time, the superintendent answered first.

“Because there were concerns about a particular school and the services at one school, and that’s why,” Lewis said. “We heard that from enough board members, and we thought it was time for us to review this and go from there.”

Goldberg added, “I don’t mean to sound crass about this, but I’ve been here two years. When I first got here, our schools were much dirtier than they are now. A lot of people were just used to it. I still walk around schools and see things with principals and say, ‘How could you walk past that?’ They’ll say, ‘What?’”

The administration’s proposal would have helped the schools become cleaner, Goldberg contended, but “as soon as it got a little bit personal, that support went away.”

Green didn’t accept that reason.

“I should not go in a cafeteria and wonder if something’s going to drop down in my tray or the floors are just continuously dirty” Green said.

The administration’s proposal “made all the sense in the world,” District 7 representative Cathy Williams said, “and I also recognize the voice of one school that likes their two little custodians and felt that everybody else should adhere to what they desire. Is there not a happy medium? Is there not a way to present to the board a comprehensive plan for improving the services throughout the system, with the exception of this one school?”

District 5 representative Laurie McRae said folks at other schools told her they also don’t want their custodians moved. “I did not realize that meant that we were not going to make any changes in the next year,” she said. “I kind of thought we would then tweak it.”

Williams added, “I’ve heard from schools that say they need some changes.” She referred to the Youth Advisory Council’s forum last month, when students complained about the condition of their schools.

“I’m not willing to go status quo for all of our properties because one school likes their two (custodians),” Williams said. “I mean, are we going to wait until those two custodians retire before all of our other schools can take advantage of finding something different?”

Goldberg replied, “I’ve been here for two years. One thing I see here in Muscogee County is the need for systemic change. Even the people who don’t agree with each other here on this board know that we need systemic change. However, as soon as it gets personal, we’re not going to have systemic change.

“There’s a lot of things that need to happen in the school system. The custodian thing’s an easy one. Let’s face it. There is this big elephant in the room, and that’s redistricting and the closing of schools. You think that’s not going to get personal?

“This board is going to have to get together to make these tough decisions and get behind the cabinet and the superintendent and each other to make systemic change happen. That’s difficult. It’s easy for me to say because I don’t have a vote and I don’t have constituents. I understand. But systemic change is going to need to happen in the school system in a lot of different realms. … When things get personal is when we all need to stick together.”

Green told Goldberg, “OK, get off your soap box.”

Williams joined in and told the operations chief, “You do have a constituency, as does everybody who sits at this table. Your constituency is the 32,000 students in our system and the employees.”

Green continued, “We have to make a lot of tough decisions, and we take our own different perspectives. We’re all nine different individuals, and it’s very important that we work collaboratively and collectively, but it’s our job to ask the questions. It’s our job to make you uncomfortable if you don’t want to answer. You have the gall to want to lecture us from your cabinet seat. …”

Goldberg: “I understand that.”

Green: “I need you to hold on. … Whatever process these individual board members go about to get the resolution in their minds, in their hearts, to be able to make a vote, we’re going to take it. You don’t have to like it, but we’re going to take it.”

Buckner again asked why the proposal wasn’t brought back for a vote. Lewis said five board members, meaning a majority, “expressed concern about this” privately and indicated they wouldn’t vote for approval.

Buckner replied, “I suggest y’all five people at least consider the other people on this board so we know what’s going on.”

Mark Cantrell, whose District 6 contains Mathews, is one of those five board members. “Yes, it is personal,” he said. “You’ve got two custodians there who’ve been at this school for this long, and this is where I said I would like a little bit of gray area here, but y’all were just giving me black and white. … I think y’all threw your flag up too quick.”

Green countered, “To me, you have to be consistent. … What you do for one you’ve got to do for the other.”

Williams insisted, “Yeah, but the status quo isn’t the answer.”

Lewis chimed in, “Let me just assure you. One way or the other, this is not going to be status quo, because I like clean buildings, and I haven’t seen one here yet that was as clean as my high school was, and they will be clean within the next year.”

Lewis was associate superintendent for learning in Polk County, Fla., when the Muscogee board hired him in July 2013.

The overall condition of the schools is better than it was last year, Lewis said, “but it’s not where it needs to be; it’s not where it’s going to be. … I plan to bring this back at some point because I do think there’s validity in it.”

After the board moved to the next agenda item, which also involved Goldberg, he apologized to the board for “overstepping my boundaries” but added, “It probably won’t be the last time.”

District 8 representative Frank Myers, the board’s most vocal critic, hadn’t participated in this debate but interjected, “You did not overstep your boundaries. It was refreshing to hear, and I thank you, sir.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Superintendent criticizes cleanliness of Muscogee County schools."