August 10, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kansas City, Kansas School Buildings Ready for First Day of School

When students in Kansas City, Kansas return to school on Monday, August 13, their buildings will be cool, clean and shining. The air conditioning has been turned on and tested. Parking lots and playgrounds have been repaired and resurfaced. Carpet has been cleaned, and some has been replaced. Lawns have been manicured, trees pruned, and flower beds are blooming.

Custodians worked this summer scrubbing and waxing wood and tile floors, cleaning carpeting, and washing walls and furniture.

"They start at the top and work down," said Joe Herbin, coordinator of buildings and grounds. "At Wyandotte High School, our largest building, they start on the third floor, washing ceilings and fixtures, and finish on the ground floor, waxing the floors and cleaning locker rooms. Because of summer school, custodians at F.L. Schlagle High School have been working day and night to complete these tasks. They couldn't begin their 'summer work' until summer school ended two weeks ago," he added.

Out of the Maintenance Shop, 57 craftspeople, including painters, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, mechanics and laborers are finishing more than 50 major summer projects. Some of these projects are:

• Resurfacing the floors of 7 of the 14 gymnasiums (this is done on a rotation basis)
• Removal, leveling, and retiling floors in 8 classrooms at Stony Point North Elementary School
• Relocation of the school and counselor’s offices at Noble Prentis Elementary School
• Replacement of carpeting at J.C. Harmon High School and Quindaro Elementary School
• Giving Welborn Elementary School a new roof
• Adding new classroom doors at Emerson Elementary School
• Remodeling of the child care facility at the Area Technical School to make room for Frances Willard Elementary School's preschool and kindergarten classes
• Refurbishing the locker rooms at Washington High School's field house
• Replumbing the east wing at Washington High School
• Laying new asphalt at the Transportation Department parking lot and the Hazel Grove Elementary playground.
• Completing concrete work at Northwest and Argentine middle schools
• Asphalting and repainting the tunnel under the Wyandotte High School Stadium

It takes the combined efforts of a lot of people to keep the more than 3.5 million square feet of floor space in good condition.

"The average age of our buildings is 47 years," relates Ira Lourie, director of physical properties. "Thanks to the combined efforts of 178 custodians, 57 craftspeople, and 6 administrative staff, they are in wonderful shape."

In order to keep buildings environmentally safe, the Maintenance Shop has converted to Greenseal cleaning products, both inside and out. They have regular training sessions with vendors to make sure that those products are used correctly.

"Our mission," says Lourie, "is to support the education of students by providing facilities and grounds that are safe, secure, and clean. We have a 'do it right the first time' attitude. We don't cut corners. We work as a team."