Janitor shortage continues; students offered jobs

Recently, the custodial staff shortage has intensified for the Milton Area School District with six vacant full-time positions. 

For about five years, the district has been short two custodians, according to District Custodial Supervisor Ms. Carolyn Yordy. 

Currently, there are ten custodians working throughout the school district’s four schools, said Ms. Yordy.  

Three of these employees are substitutes that Ms. Yordy said she can call on when needed. She added that she calls them as often as they are available due to the considerable demand. 

The custodian shortage has been worse this school year due to many custodians retiring or others leaving for more money elsewhere, said Ms. Yordy. 

According to Ms. Yordy, the struggles of finding new custodians lies with the hourly starting rate of $13 per hour, as well as competition with other employers that are offering better packages. 

“But, I feel as if we are all in the same boat. There are so many places looking for employees; it’s not just with our school district. You know, it’s across the board with everyone,” added Ms. Yordy. 

To make up for the shortage, student volunteers helped to move furniture before the start of the school year, and some custodians have put in overtime, said Ms. Yordy. Teachers pitch in by cleaning their classroom’s desks and setting out their trash in the hallway, she added. 

According to English Teacher Ms. Angela Ranck, she has an added layer of responsibilities on top of her planning and teaching. To help the custodians make the environment of her room safe and cleanly, she cleans her desk every other day and her board weekly, she added. 

Spanish Teacher Ms. Hunter said that she sometimes sweeps the floor in her room. Students have also been better with cleaning up after themselves or others, she added. 

Some areas that have previously been cleaned every night are now only cleaned once a week to cut down on the work load of the custodial staff, said Ms. Yordy.  

Though, the custodial staff is persevering during these hard times, according to Ms. Ranck.  

 “I notice that the custodians that we do have are working very hard and are accomplishing a huge amount of work despite the circumstances. … I feel that they deserve praise and recognition for this,” said Ms. Ranck.  

According to Ms. Hunter, the few custodians that the school has seem exhausted because they are doing everything that multiple people used to do. Things like desks are not being cleaned as often, she said. Though, she strongly appreciates what the custodians do and they are very helpful whenever you ask for something, added Ms. Hunter. 

“The custodians are doing the absolute best they can. I do not fault them. … They simply just don’t have the physical time to clean everything that needs to get cleaned,” added Ms. Hunter. 

The biggest challenge the staff is facing is covering so many open schedules in a short amount of time, according to Mrs. Yordy. 

“I would like to see more students look for after school work and possible sign up for that after school. We’ve had students work three to four hours after school and that was a big help for us,” said Ms. Yordy. 

Students can sign up for this $10 per hour position on the school district’s website under “Employment Opportunities,” according to Ms. Yordy.  

Any student over the age of 15 can sign up as a substitute custodian through an Applitrack application, said Ms. Yordy. If they complete all their clearances and get board approved like all custodial staff employees, they will be able to start working, she added. 

There are definitely things that are in play that will “hopefully” help improve the custodial staff shortage, said Ms. Yordy. The school district is offering a generous health care plan and retirement, along with vacation, sick, personal days and paid holidays, according to Ms. Yordy.