Detroit Public Schools Contracts Out Custodial Services

Mlive.com reports that Detroit Public Schools signed contracts with private vendors to clean and maintain the district’s buildings. DPS will join 145 other school districts in Michigan that contract out for these services.

The moves are expected to save the district $75 million over five years, a significant amount of savings. Thirty-two districts were new to custodial service contracting in 2010 and were expecting to save $14 million in the first year of their contracts.

The savings also helps the district remain open as it addresses a $327 million expected deficit. In addition to finding ways to save the district money, Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb worked to root out corruption and waste in the district’s operations.

A map of all the districts that contract out for food, custodial or transportation services is available here and the results of the 2010 school privatization survey are available here.

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