KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Leaders at Knox County Schools said they are having trouble finding custodians to clean schools, and are thinking about hiring an outside company to clean up after-hours as a result.
They said 16 schools were at less than 60% of the staffing they need to operate well. Jerry Anderson, a former custodian at Knox County Schools, said he remembered how challenging it was for workers when there weren't enough custodians.
"It's kind of a thankless job and you almost have to like what you do, if nothing else. For no other reason is the fact that I'm wanting to provide a safe, clean environment for the kids," he said. "It's been a little bit short for a good while now."
Sometimes, he said he would need to work on a day when he was supposed to be off, making sure the school was tidy and neat for the next weekday's students.
"We will just come on in the next Saturday morning, do the same thing," he said. "No clocking in. No nothing."
He worked at Austin-East Magnet High School and West High School for around 12 years. He retired around five years ago.
Superintendent Jon Rysewyk said the school district is continuing to face challenges in hiring custodians. He said that there have been fewer applications for the position.
"But, you know, we do have that balance of trying to keep things clean," he said.
The board of education was planning to discuss signing a contract with Duncan and Sons' Building Maintenance at a cost of around $211,000 per month. However, that item was withdrawn from the agenda for Wednesday's meeting.
The board is expected to make a final decision about hiring an outside contractor in January.
"We think this could be a short-term, short-term patch to be able to keep schools clean to the level that we want," Rysewyk said. "It's time we got them some help so that they could balance their lives a little bit as well."