How Ladue’s COVID-19

PAYING FOR A PANDEMIC

A look into the effects of budget allocation on administration and employees SOPHIA LIU in-depth editor fiscal year. Ladue also received several grants for COVID-19 relief. To alleviate pandemic safety concerns, Ladue has

With the unemployment rate reaching historical highs elevated routine sanitation services, enforcing proat a staggering 14.7% in April, the pandemic has cedures for deep cleaning and installing plexiglass. caused the number of furloughs and layoffs to soar. Consequently, the custodial staff has seen an increase

The furloughs and layoffs have also hit close to home. For in hours and even number of workers. However, with example, located just 25 miles away, school bus providers were budget modifications, Ladue avoided additional exforced to lay off 127 bus drivers at the Northwest School Dis- penses from the supplemental cleaning services. trict in Jefferson County, Mo. Let us take a closer look into how Ladue has cali-

At Ladue, the administration avoided furloughing or laying brated budgetary affairs and its effects on employees off any employees by readjusting the budget for the 2020-2021 such as the custodial staff. p LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM 12.14.20 11

NUDGING THE BUDGET An overview of Ladue’s budget shifts as a result of COVID-19

SOPHIA LIU in-depth editor

In recent months, employees in all industries and fields have been wrought with a new wave of questions related to job security as countless companies were forced to furlough and lay off workers in order to avoid losses in revenue.

While the Ladue school district has not furloughed any employees, members of the board and finance committee have had to reapportion preliminary budget distributions in a diligent manner to help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. At Ladue, pandemic-related expenditures are currently estimated at $1.9 million.

“We have a facility committee and we run basically anything that costs money through a finance committee before taking anything to the final board,” Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Julie Helm said. “For the budget, you have your resources, so it really comes down to how you can look at things differently.”

As a result of the pandemic, many schools have sought opportunities to apply for federal and St. Louis County grants issued by the government.

The grants help supplement budget dollars that districts resorted to spending for COVID-19 relief during the early months of the pandemic.

For instance, even though the Before and After School Care program and

Ladue Early Childhood Center lost roughly $2.2 million in fees and tuition, the losses will be mitigated by government-issued grants. The district has been approved to receive $601,951 in governmental grants with the bulk of the grant money deriving from the CARES Act, which has a relief fund designated for elementary and secondary schools. Assistant

Superintendent for Business and

Finance Jason Buckner oversees business affairs for the district, analyzing financial actions and tracking the aftermath. 12 IN-DEPTH

“There are multiple budget changes due to COVID-19-required expenditures, as well as revenue received due to [grants],” Buckner said. “The [grant] money will be saved to offset unpredicted COVID-19-related expenditures and loss of revenue.”

Another shift lies in custodial services and staff provided by ABBCO, a janitorial service provider. Since not all schools are in person, it may be easy to assume that budget money allocated to cleaning services has gone down because not all students are in school. However, this is not the case, as Ladue is implementing additional cleaning services, such as deep cleaning, in the schools that remain open. Furthermore, schools are now open on Sundays, allotting teachers extra time to prepare for their students; this has led to an increase in custodial services by amplifying sanitary protocols to accommodate safety concerns.

“There’s a lot of additional deep cleaning and sanitizing, so ABBCO has added on some extra staff to make sure it gets done,” Helm said. “Every evening, ABBCO goes in to wipe everything down, thoroughly disinfecting things like door handles and light switches so that those high traffic areas are hit extremely well.”

As the first semester comes to an end, Buckner and the Business and Finance Department are preparing for the 2020-2021 Mid-Year Budget Update to the Board of Education Jan. 25th, 2021. Board members will then determine whether modifications need to be made to maximize the budget while facilitating a safe and meritable learning and teaching experience for students and faculty members.

“Our relationships with vendors like ABBCO have been quite instrumental in helping the district keep students and staff safe,” Communications Director Kimberly McKenzie said. “As district employees, we are always striving to be as fiscally responsible as possible.” p photos by | GRACE HENSLEY, MARISSA MATHIESON & SOPHIA LIU

GRACE HENSLEY, MARISSA MATHIESON & SOPHIA LIU

CLEANING DURING COVID Impacts of COVID-19 on Ladue’s maintenance staff

MARISSA MATHIESON

in-depth editor

Jared Walker, a janitor at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, gets up at 4:15 a.m. every morning, five days a week, to drive to work.

“A lot of our custodians have a large challenge before they even get into the building, as far as dealing with the realities of COVID-19 and just getting to work in general,” Mike Noonan, Director of Facilities, said.

When Walker arrives at 6 a.m., he first checks if anything is out of place, then moves on to a litany of tasks: moving furniture, setting up classroom dividers, sanitizing heavily used areas and making sure the school is safe.

“We have to thoroughly make sure everything is wiped down and clean for the next group or the next day so we don’t have any outbreaks happen,” Walker said.

As COVID-19 continues to spread, janitorial workers around the world have continued to work despite fears that they could potentially contract the virus. Even though high school students at Ladue aren’t back for in-person schooling, janitorial workers continue cleaning, which has consequently caused an increase in the Ladue budget for such services.

“At first, it was a little nervewracking; anxiety was high because we didn’t know what was going on,” Walker said. “We feel like there are a thousand different spaces somebody can be so we just want to make sure to keep the staff and students safe.”

To assist janitors with the increase in cleaning, the district provided services through ABBCO, a janitorial service provider. Utilizing this service, Ladue has been able to obtain additional daytime custodians at each elementary school to help sanitize more spaces. Luckily, no one from the maintenance department has been furloughed or laid off.

“When you’re a small department, the rest of the department really has to kick in and get it all to keep going,” Noonan said. “So it’s been interesting that we have been able to maintain staff even though we have had a few infections.”

With thousands of businesses and organizations scrambling to stay afloat during the pandemic, many have resorted to reducing their employees’ pay. However, the maintenance department’s salary has stayed the same due to a wide variety of grants Ladue has received.

“When it first started and we were at home, we kept our pay,” Walker said. “So overall that was a blessing because it hasn’t affected me financially.”

Guidelines such as social distancing, cleaning areas separately, adding dividers and handling an increase in tasks have reduced the time janitors spend together. However, in spite of the challenging conditions, the janitorial staff has still found a way to grow closer and bond — even from six feet away.

“Truthfully, we’re closer because we’re trying to look out for each other,” Walker said. “Even though we work one area per person, we’ve gotten closer because of family life and stuff like that.”

Before the pandemic, janitors typically wouldn’t get around to deep sanitization until the evening, but now they are required to clean repetitively throughout the day to keep the school sanitized. Finding a way to handle the increased challenges and tasks while adhering to guidelines may seem difficult for those not accustomed to the job, but the janitorial staff manages to push through even in the most difficult conditions.

“I’ve really been impressed throughout this whole process,” Noonan said. “ [The janitors] have really taken ownership of the building despite COVID-19. They have provided us with both extra cleaning and extra sanitization measures to make sure employees and students are safe.” p 12.14.20 13