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PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP — The Comstock Park Board of Education voted to hire a private company to clean its Greenridge Elementary School, one of the district’s six schools. The district awarded a contract to Grand Rapids Building Services.
After the retirement of a custodian in January, the district used GRBS on a short-term basis to clean the building, according to The Grand Rapids Press. The district then decided to have a formal bidding process to award a one-year contract for the school.
Other districts around the state mix their custodial services between contractors and district employees as well. Six districts contract out custodial services for a single building, according to the Mackinac Center’s 2007 school privatization survey.
By the district’s analysis, it would cost $50,823 for district employees to clean the school for the next year. Savings offered by the five bidders ranged between 6 percent and 32 percent, according to The Press. The district spent $8 million on support service activities in its 2006-2007 fiscal year, according to its most recent financial report.
Reference
“Comstock Park: School custodian job goes private,” The Grand Rapids Press, March 25, 2008
