Almost two full months into the contract with the Ferndale Public Schools and custodial services provided by GCA Services Group, parents and staff have not enjoyed clean schools yet. According to a GCA Services Group representative at the last Clawson Public Schools Board of Education meeting, GCA would not be running any smoother (not even smoothly) for at least another 60 to 90 days. Superintendent Monique Beels stated that “they” (CPS? GCA?) are asking teachers to complete a daily survey rating the cleanliness of their classrooms from 1 to 5, 1 being that “they were not cleaned at all” to 5 being that “they were cleaner than last year.” Principals are also being asked to rate their schools as a whole and specific areas. While responses varied, the average were between a 2 and 3. School Board Member Kimmi Carlesimo asked Ms. Beels if she had provided the Ferndale Public Schools with written notice of a breach in contract by GCA/FPS. Following that notice, FPS has 10 days to fix the problem, according to the IGA. If not fixed, after 21 days, CPS can provide notice to cancel the contract. Ms. Beels responded that she is “keeping track” of any issues that arise, but has not provided that list of breaches to FPS. The Board added a “Custodial Update” to their next meeting, once again, which is scheduled for Monday, October 19, 2015 at 7:00 pm.
Custodians have been seen with pants being worn hanging below their “bottoms” with underwear showing in the past month and a half. Today, a parent provided the following testimonial via social media:
Worse yet, just last month, on September 23, 2015, it was discovered by police after investigating a suspicious vehicle parked at Kenwood Elementary School, that a custodian working at the school had multiple, existing warrants for their arrest. The response by CPS, provided in a letter from Superintendent Monique Beels was:
Unfortunately, in rare occasions, due to the [Michigan State Police] criminal background check reports only containing certain information, a school district is not alerted to other nonconviction information, such as outstanding bench warrants pertaining to civil, or traffic infractions. For example, we have verified with the Michigan State Police, Criminal Justice Information Center in Lansing, that the legally required fingerprint-based criminal background checks for school employment do not reflect outstanding bench warrants in Michigan.
Michigan law prohibits a school district from disclosing the criminal background check reports or their contents, except where there is a misdemeanor conviction involving sexual or physical abuse, or any felony conviction. As a result, we must comply with Michigan law despite our commitment to transparency. We want to assure you that we are in constant communication with Ferndale and all those involved to ensure that only those individuals subjected to criminal background checks and found to be legally compliant are permitted to work in our schools.
Be sure to attend the next CPS School Board meeting this coming Monday, October 19, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. (Clawson High School Media Center) and let them know of any concerns or questions you may have.
Keep Clawson Students Safe 