4 minute read
A clean bill of health
A Clean Bill of Health
Custodians at BVN navigate new protocols to keep our community safe during the coronavirus pandemic.
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by Caroline Clarke
The fluorescent lights flicker, illuminating smooth linoleum floors and tables still damp from disinfectant. Machines hum as they spray cleaning solutions on lunch tables. Stray hand sanitizer runs down the side of a desk. A discarded mask sits next to the trash. This is the battleground. And custodians are the soldiers on the frontlines
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Blue Valley community has faced uncertainty during the 2020-2021 school year. Beginning with a delayed start, and facing a mix of virtual and in-person learning, returning to school buildings has been a battle. Throughout this process, BVN’s custodial staff has been on the frontlines, working to manage facilities and keep our schools clean and safe.
Despite increased workload and danger of infection, custodians at BVN have used new and old protocols in an attempt to limit outbreaks within the walls of our school.
Despite the risk of increased exposure to COVID-19, almost all of the Blue Valley custodial staff members have chosen to return to their jobs this school year. To limit the spread of coronavirus among students, custodians are disinfecting “touchpoints” throughout the building, which includes any surfaces that a high volume of students and staff make contact with. This includes doorknobs, pencil sharpeners, telephones and multiple other objects within classrooms and common areas.
However, this increase in workload has also been accompanied by decreased pay for custodians. Lead custodian Terry Linz said that this is a concern for people on his team.
“But ... usually custodians make more money with permits. So anytime that somebody rents out a part of the building for say, a dinner, or something like that, we get paid extra,” Linz said. “But there’s been a lot less of that going on. So the pay is decreased. But the work has increased.”
Another challenge during this school year has been acquiring adequate supplies for the school. This includes protective gear, such as masks and gloves, as well as basic supplies, such as toilet paper. Matt Brooks, the custodial coordinator for Blue Valley Schools, said that it has been difficult to anticipate which items will have shortages.
“Is toilet paper going to be short? Do I need to order more paper towels?...That’s really the toughest thing,” Brooks said. “That goes with machines, too....especially the foggers. We bought some of them [that] we had to wait two, three months for. And even right now, with hand soap, we’re still waiting on automatic dispensers. We’re supposed to get those in December ... I ordered those back in May. So we’re over six months to get our automated dispensers.”
When Brooks began his time at the district five years ago, he implemented a cleaning protocol that includes wiping down high traffic surfaces every night. This existing practice facilitated an easier transition to the heightened disinfecting requirements of the pandemic. Additionally, custodians are implementing flu season protocol to fight the spread of the virus, a situation that staff are already familiar with.
New machines have been purchased to support this increased physical workload. The district has purchased “foggers,” which are tools used to disinfect large surfaces that may carry the virus. Some benefits of the foggers are speed, fewer chemicals and thorough coverage, as opposed to simply wiping down these surfaces.
“It’s a machine that atomizes the liquid that we put in it. Now the liquid that we use is the Tersano Stabilized Aqueous Ozone, which is the Tersano water, as we call it, which has ozone in it, and the ozone is the killer,” Brooks said. “And what the ozone wants to do is it’s attracted ... to the bacteria. It kills lots of different stuff, and it kills it quickly, because instead of trying to ... poison it to death, that oxygen molecule blows a hole in the membrane, thus rendering the COVID particle or bacteria ... dead. And it won’t multiply anymore, which is exactly what we want.”
This equipment will continue to disinfect our school, even when coronavirus fears subside. It could aid in cleaning during localized outbreaks of other illnesses, including flu season.
“It’s nice to keep that ... tool in your arsenal. You know it’s great for when we have flu outbreaks,” Brooks said. “If we have a MRSA outbreak [it’s helpful for] cleaning locker rooms, you know, whether there’s an outbreak or not ... it can really help us. Make sure we’re getting all the nooks and crannies, you know, the small spots where we may miss wiping or something like that spraying that helps us get those areas.”
Maria Velazquez, a day custodian at BVN, is responsible for using a fogger to clean tables at lunch, among other efforts to disinfect the building. Although this machine has made cleaning more efficient, she said that making sure classrooms and common areas are trash free is crucial.
“They’ve been doing well because they’ve been picking their trash [up] after themselves. So that’s a big help. Because that way when we go to disinfect the tables or the areas [it] is easier, because you don’t have to pick up trash first and then disinfect,” Velazquez said. “So it’s just sticking with it. Everybody has their trash, but we like to have more time to disinfect appropriately.”
