SPOA Member Profile on John Vantol

Member Profile JOHN VANTOL

John Vantol: 16 years and counting

BY MELANIE FRANNER

John and his family on vacation. Left to right: John Vantol with wife Rita, Austin, Sheldon and Jackson.

Not everyone gets to go to work every day and do something that he likes. But that’s exactly the case when it comes to John Vantol, manager, maintenance services, School District No. 37 (Delta). Vantol moved to Delta, B.C. in 1993, after spending about 20 years in the healthcare industry.

“There were more opportunities in the education sector than healthcare at the time,” he explains. “There was a lot of amalgamation going on in healthcare. I was aware of the shrinkage in the industry, and knew that there was a need for people like me in education.”

Vantol applied to Delta School District, got the job and then moved the family from Richmond to Delta, where he remains to this day with his wife and family.

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK

As manager of maintenance services – a position that Vantol has held for two years now – Vantol’s responsibilities include overseeing all of the maintenance functions for the school district, which includes 31 schools, a board office, and a handful of auxiliary sites. He currently has 52 people working under him, seven of whom are foremen.

“A typical day is like any other job,” says Vantol. “You have good days with lots of rewards and then other days where the challenges seem to be unending.”

One of the challenges, in particular, Vantol says is the ability to get “face time” with the people out in the field.

“Based on the daily correspondence that’s involved with this job, there’s enough to do to keep a guy behind the desk,” he explains.

That being said, Vantol has fewer people to oversee today than he did when he first started in maintenance services. That’s because there was a major reorganization back then when the government decreed that any construction projects with a value of a $250,000 or more had to be put to a public tendering process. Prior to that, the school district was doing these capital projects in-house. Although there were significant layoffs, most of the long-term employees stayed on.

“We have many long-time staff in the maintenance group,” says Vantol. “Some have been here for 25 or 35 years. They are very helpful; they’ve got the history and form the backbone of the group.”

Vantol was chosen to lead the maintenance services team after 14 years of serving as manager, custodial services.

“The jobs are very similar,” he explains. “I work out of the same location. The opportunity came up and I had some previous experience in the area.”

Vantol adds that the fact that he has always been able to stick to a budget may have also played a role in his recent promotion.

PROUD TO PLAY A ROLE

Having worked for the school district for 16+ years now, Vantol admits that he and his group have made many contributions. One of the more recent examples was creating an inhouse vehicle and equipment services program to perform work that had been contracted out previously.

“There are 75 vehicles in the fleet,” he explains. “And our service profile includes everything from weed wackers to dump trucks. This approach gives us better asset control and saves money.”

Of course, Vantol is also quick to credit the people and organizations with whom he has had the pleasure of working over the years.

“The people I have worked with have been great,” he says. “They are the source of any success that I have had. They are the ones who bring the joy to my job. My association with SPOA has also been very fruitful. I think that they are one of the best mentoring groups around.”

Vantol joined SPOA in 1993, when he first accepted the position with the Delta school district.

“I got involved with their mentoring programs right off the bat,” he concludes. “And I believe that they continue to provide a valuable and key service to their members.” ❏