Summer cleaning is underway in Putnam County Schools, with a lot of work to get done in a short amount of time.
Deputy Director of Schools Tim Martin said shortened summers paired with summer programs in some buildings make getting the list completed challenging. Martin said waxing the floors is a top priority.
“To be honest with you, over the last few years, we’ve had a tough time getting that done,” Martin said. “So we’ve tried to break that up. And we do some waxing in every school over the summer, but we also do a lot of waxing during fall break and Christmas Break as well.”
Martin said hallways can be waxed anytime, but classrooms need to be done over the summer so all of the furniture can be removed. Martin said the summer is used for tasks that are difficult to do when students are in the buildings, such as deep cleaning the bathrooms and classroom air vents.
Martin said the cleaning crews can co-exist with summer programs when needed, but they are usually separate.
“We try to get the cleaning service to consolidate their people into the buildings as soon as school is out,” Martin said. “We consolidate their people into the buildings that don’t have summer programs. That way, as soon as summer programs are over, they can move all of their people into those buildings.”
Martin said when crews work in a building where summer programs are going on, they stay on a different floor to keep away from students and staff.
Martin said it is important to use the summer for cleaning and maintenance.
“The better you maintain your building, the better people feel about it and the better your facilities will work,” Martin said.
A total of 22 buildings get a major summer cleaning.
