You are viewing this article in the AnnArbor.com archives. For the latest breaking news and updates in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area, see MLive.com/ann-arbor
Posted on Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 5:58 a.m.

Bid to privatize Ann Arbor schools noon-hour supervisors would save district $55K

By AnnArbor.com Staff

Ann Arbor Public Schools could save about $55,000 per year by privatizing its noon-hour supervisors by awarding a contract for the jobs to Professional Contract Management, Inc.

MITCHELL 1 LT.JPG

Students at Mitchell Elementary School goof around while eating lunch.

File photo | The Ann Arbor News

The Board of Education will discuss the proposal during its meeting Wednesday.

The district issued a Request for Proposals on Aug. 8 and received one bid for the services. The request was for a three-year contract with the option to renew the contract on a yearly basis for two additional years beginning in fiscal year 2012/13.

The proposed bid to provide the services was 25.83 percent of gross wages, about 7 percent higher than the district than bids seen for similar services, according to the board packet. District leaders previously estimated privatizing the noon-hour workers would save Ann Arbor $75,000.

"Per discussion with PCMI representatives, the cost of providing these services has grown significantly over the years. This will impact the overall projected savings anticipated by the school district," the packet said.

The anticipated savings would be generated from AAPS not having to pay in to the state’s retirement system for each of these workers, according to previous reports.

The Professional Contract Management bid would save about 6 percent, or $55,000, of AAPS' current expenditures. In addition to the direct financial savings, there are indirect administrative savings that will be realized due to reduced process and placement services, according to board information.

Ann Arbor’s approximately 400 noon-hour supervisors work anywhere from one to two hours per day, and many work only a few days per week. The board voted in June to privatize the positions, but workers were told to report to their jobs as usual when school started.

District spokeswoman Liz Margolis previously said a transition plan addressing what could happen to the current lunchtime employees would be developed at the time that a bid is accepted.

The district has contracted with Professional Contract Management for the past several years for substitutes and coaches.

The first reading of the proposal will be held Wednesday, with a second briefing and vote scheduled for Oct. 10.

Learn more about Professional Contract Management.

Comments

maallen

Wed, Sep 19, 2012 : 1:26 p.m.

Although $55,000 is small in savings compared to other "big ticket" items they can and should be looking at, but I have to question why it is necessary to even pay these "noon hour supervisors?" When did that start happening? I know at Charter schools it is all done by volunteers after a background check that is paid for by the school. Also, because of the Affordable Care Act, these public schools (because the "noon hour supervisors" are a paid position and considered part time employees) will be required to offer them health insurance or face a penalty from the federal government. So realistically, what choice do they have?

snapshot

Wed, Sep 19, 2012 : 1:31 a.m.

Is this what they would call "the tail wagging the dog"? So much fat at the top of the food chain and yet it is the little guys that take the hit. Another issue that really urks me as much is the common thread running through these posts that anyone except a "bona fide" public employee is worth a crap. Let me remind you "special" public employees that you constitute only about 10% of the workforce so you are insulting a whole lot of us "crappy" people whfo don't care, are incompetent, and unworthy of attaining the "caliber" of a public employee. This egotistical attitude is not serving your cause at all and in fact, is instrumental in motivating your opposition. It proves that we don't always get what we pay for.

Jay Thomas

Wed, Sep 19, 2012 : 12:13 a.m.

I am in favor of it but any money saved will just end up in the pockets of the rest of the AAPS employees.

48104

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:29 p.m.

NO! None of these other cost-saving plans have actually saved the money projected and the people/services have definitely declined in quality as well.

Karen Henderson

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 9:21 p.m.

Thank all of you for your support. If only you could tell the School Board. I am a Noon-Hour Supervisor. We don't do our job for the money. It is for the love of our students. Imagine each Sept. new 6 graders entering Middles School lunch. It can be a scary thing. BUT they see the same smiling face each and everyday with words of encouragement, a joke or two. These same students seem to blossom. Self esteem rises. Most of us see these same students graduate. Head held high and confident. Because we care. We go to their games, we listen and offer advise. And for the lucky few we get the I love yous, hugs and high fives. I am proud to say that most call me Mom. They still do and they are in High School. How can you put a price on that?

maallen

Wed, Sep 19, 2012 : 1:19 p.m.

"We don't do our job for the money." Then there will be no issue if it is privatized. After all, it's not about the money. It's about the kids.

harry

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 4:50 p.m.

Why aren't teachers doing noon hour. Maybe stagger lunches. There is over 30 teachers/couselors/principle in a grade school. Manage with what you have.

J. A. Pieper

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:52 p.m.

I teach children in AAPS. I work through lunch, preparing for the afternoon or reviewing what else needs to be done with a morning lesson. I meet with other teachers to collaborate, and some days I actually get to eat my lunch. We have staggered lunches at my school, probably do at most elementary schools in AAPS, this does not make it any easier, the time of supervision is just spread over a longer time period. And while my students are at lunch, there are several special area classes who are teaching children of a different grade level, so your idea of there being 30 + teachers/staff to supervise is way off target. We work closely with the supervisors who see our students daily, and we treasure what they do because it is a challenging job.

vox rationis

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 9:25 p.m.

Typically I tend to agree with your posts DonBee...but your condescension is completely unwarranted in this case. After a busy morning, sometimes without a break if my students are not in a "special" (ie. gym, art) I spend the 48 minutes I get for my lunch assisting my lower el students get settled in the lunch room, making any copies I might need for my afternoon, returning calls from parents or calling parents regarding issues with their student, coordinating curriculum issues with other members of my grade level team. On any given day I frequently will be working with a student or two that did not complete their morning work, whether due to an academic or behavioral issue, consulting with lunch staff if my students have a problem at lunch. You might also find me sorting through book orders for my pupils, consulting with my principal, or completing individualized lesson plans for my students. Sometimes I find the time to eat my lunch from home and go to the restroom before my students return. Yes DonBee, we are professionals and that is how we spend our lunch time. How do you spend yours?

DonBee

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 8:38 p.m.

How 1960s of you Harry, teachers don't do lunch hours, they are professionals.

Greg

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 4:40 p.m.

Want to save some real money - freeze school administrators salaries for the next five years. Make a much greater difference.

Atticus F.

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 3:08 p.m.

I'm really, really craving tater-tots right now.

jacquelyn wright

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 2:48 p.m.

Private equals profit .if there is a profit to be made surely the union and school board can reach an agreement. somehow $55000 seems a minuscule amount in comparison to a small pension and/or job security for workers. Out of idle curiosity I've wondered what school board spent on new building near Pioneer football field and for what purpose?

MaryKat

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 2:23 p.m.

A three year contract? With no mention of accountablility for results? No mention of implementing best practices to meet the needs of the children being supervised and cared for while on school property? No description of how administration will supervise the supervisors in order to fulfill their obligation to provide safe schools environment? Is this article lacking information or are the residents of the Humane Society going to get a better chance at being provided a happy, safe noon hour, compared to the typical AAPS 7 year old?

dotdash

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 2:05 p.m.

This is epitome of the penny-wise and pound-foolish logic of outsourcing. You bring in another level of middle management who have to have a cut (and you can bet *they* have a retirement plan), you make the job less attractive, you remove benefits, you lose the local people who have a stake in the community and you get .... um ... $55,000.

LXIX

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 12:42 p.m.

According to Manta this is a mom&pop run business out of marine MI with 10-19 employees and earns between $500k-1M per year. Dun&Bradsteet puts the employee count at 8. They are like a Kelly Temp agency. For a whopping $55k savings out of a $184M budget here is what parents get: ---$7/hr could-care-less temp workers from wherever instead of $10/hr staff.who are part of the community. Many Grandmothers who depend upon a predictable income close to home. ---Come&go strangers vetted/graded by a distant company instead of local grannies /moms.vetted by the school system - many who have attended or have relatives in school here. ---Unlike the cost-saving corporate version of training, the staff are professionally schooled in emergency response while many are also grannies/moms who have had hands on experience dealing with kid issues.. For the price of one or two overpaid AAPS administrators, outsourcing transportation, janitorial, food service, and lunchtime supervision, will cost parents untold value in the security and developmental livlihoods of their kids - Did the board consider that?. Maybe the new wonderful Superintendant could take a %20 pay cut instead of putting more kids at risk?

Paul Taylor

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 1:02 p.m.

Agreed.

dexterreader

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 12:32 p.m.

As is the case with most privatization efforts, you get what you pay for. Didn't I just read an article on aa.com a few weeks ago about a 50% turnover rate when the ISD took over transportation in local districts? No pension, no benefits, no raises and low pay = high turnover. And you can bet PCMI will not be covering the cost of re-fingerprinting and background checking on any current employees it hires. Those "newly hired" privatized employees would probably have to work two weeks just to pay for the fingerprinting and background check. Sad. $55,000 is a drop in the bucket. Pick on someone your own size AA school board.

GoNavy

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 1:08 p.m.

So, are you saying that we need to provide a pension, benefits, yearly raises and high pay to lunch monitors? That's what your post implies. You're right about "getting what you pay for" with privatization. The flip side of that statement is that "we are not paying more for what we're getting," when taken in the construct of what you've provided.

Bob W

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:30 a.m.

I love these schemes. Has anyone ever really studied the long-term affects/savings? These become low pay, no benefit positions. Sure, there are many who will take and need this work. But what happens to these people later in life and who will pay then? We will and what will we all have gotten in the meantime? Pennywise, pound foolish.. again.

aamom

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 5:31 p.m.

@Paul My child's principal is in there nearly every day, along with the noon supervisors.

Paul Taylor

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 1:23 p.m.

South Lyon tried it with maintenance twenty years ago and it didn't last.

Paul Taylor

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 12:35 p.m.

When I was a kid, my principal supervised lunch. Try getting an admin to do that today....

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:51 a.m.

And this is no different from the current scheme, other than who writes the checks and handles the paperwork. We have part time lunch supervisors now, because it would be unfair to ask teachers to do it like they did when I was a kid.

Tony Livingston

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:27 a.m.

My friend works lunches at a grade school. She has worked there for years, she has lived in the neighborhood for years, and her kids all go to AAPS. Why should she be dismissed? Don't we want people who are part of the community to be in these jobs? If this goes through it will be constant turnover to save a pittance.

bobslowson

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 2:48 p.m.

No..the GOP wants to privatize everything...actually they would prefer public schools go the way of betamax...not there yet but on the way!

Paul Taylor

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 1:23 p.m.

Generally, when people provide a needed service, it is for compensation. Upon delivering said service, one legitimately feels one is "owed" said compensation. Also, Google Bath Township Bombing. Of course, bombings generally don't require site access to be effective.

GoNavy

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 1:06 p.m.

Are you suggesting that the taxpayers "owe" your friend something? To be honest, I'm shocked that we pay people to monitor lunches. When I was younger, non-working parents volunteered for that position. We never had a shooting, stabbing, suicide bombing, poisoning, or any other adverse event occur.

Carole

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:52 a.m.

Savings $75,000 vs. having a safe, proper noon hour for your children -- parents, please check out your child's noon hour.

Carole

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 1:50 p.m.

Yes, Music to my ear -- parents should be taking a vested interest in how the lunch hour is going - and an extra pair of eyes were always appreciated when I was doing the noon hour.

music to my ear

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:17 a.m.

I believe you can go have lunch with your child ,just check in at the office, I know alot of parents are not able to. but those that can should the workers may do better with "extra eyes" on them.

Carole

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:50 a.m.

This is a totally disgusting venue to follow -- I know what is entailed working with these children. The salary was low and after two years never received any type of increase -- I know many individuals who have worked the position for a lengthu period of time with no increases. When the mileage failed a few years back, noon supervisors were one of the first to get their hours cut, and yet many dedicated individuals stayed. It is my understanding that if privatized, all of the present supervisors will have to be re-fingerprinted, have a physical, and go through the process as if they were brand new employees--all have already had this done, so why have to do it again and at their expense and if rehired probably at a lower rate with the contracting company making a profit -- is this what you really wish for.. The job is in the middle of the day, at best 2 hrs -- who do you think will be jumping in line to do the job that folks are already doing. Just like the bus drivers -- it will be chaos -- and, ask any teacher, have a bad noon hour, have a bad afternoon of "educating".

Paul Taylor

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:16 a.m.

And even dedicated individuals will leave when they decide they are tired of being unappreciated. This leaves individuals who are not so dedicated to the job, and, thus, a less safe lunchroom. Privatization in public schools is not, I think, ever a good idea. And, being a bad idea, it always bubbles up to the top in budget discussions...

DonBee

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:49 a.m.

LOL - $4 million dollar increase in administrative overhead since 2007 according to the state filings, $0.055 million savings on lunch hour supervisors. PRICELESS A great place to spend probably $100,000 in administrative time. Well done Board of Education, well done! Your priorities are in the right place.

Brad

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 1:08 p.m.

Ah, finally we'll address that "doorstop gap".

Paul Taylor

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 12:34 p.m.

Bob, I was thinking that very same thought: at some point in the near future, someone is going to say, "Well, we have 55k more in the budget. Now is the time to create a position in charge of district doorstop compliance."

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:34 a.m.

This will rationalize the saving of an administrator position.

Tom Todd

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:58 a.m.

trying to get votes from the repubs

Paul Taylor

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:48 a.m.

55k in a district budget is pennies. They could probably save more just by checking bus tire pressure more frequently.

GoNavy

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 1:03 p.m.

Mr. Taylor- A penny is a penny. If I could buy a 2012 BMW for pennies, I would - unfortunately, a well-appointed version costs $55k. So I'm OK with saving $55k, because I can link it to something tangible that "pennies" are unable to buy. $55k here, $100k there, it all adds up. Tough to worry about when it's other people's money, but let's give it the old college try, OK?

Paul Taylor

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 12:30 p.m.

Deride as you will, but institutional memory includes knowing what kids were troublemakers last year, or which times of the year make for more challenging control situations in the lunchroom. It includes knowing what coworkers might have kids in the room and therefore distracted by their own concerns. Institutional memory is an important element of any organization. History is littered with organizations who failed to acknowledge it, and public institutions are not immune to this.

Angry Moderate

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:38 a.m.

God forbid the part-time lunch supervisors lack "institutional memory."

Paul Taylor

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:55 a.m.

Instead, turnover rates under privatization will turn the lunch supervisor corps into an army of disengaged workers with no institutional memory or concern for their charges. You get what you pay for. If AAPS wants to save a few cents by turning over a security-related matter to a contracting agency, they shouldn't be surprised when, down the road, being pennywise today results in a poundfoolish settlement over some injury to a child in a poorly-supervised lunchroom.

music to my ear

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:39 a.m.

is that the best they can do 55 .look somewhere else , leave the lunch people alone . also if this management company takes over. are they going to do background check on the new employees. they will pay less .may have a big turnover. background checks are not cheap. the lunch workers now will be offered the same position, with less pay if they want that job still. I know some will stay this "new company" will ask some of the current workers to reapply. its so sad I am sure they dont make that much as it is.

anotherannarborite

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 3:18 p.m.

The company the school contracted out to do custodial work a while back didn't do background checks or they wouldn't have been able to place the man who sexually abused the 14 year old girl at school. Don't remember all the details, but he was a convicted sex offender.

music to my ear

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:47 a.m.

I feel that they are probably going to have turnovers. I am more concern about the safety of the students. more like they have to do the processing over again and maybe over again.etc.

Angry Moderate

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:38 a.m.

Why do you think a background check costs more for a private company than the school district? Obviously, that cost applies to both of them.

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:32 a.m.

So background checks for people with access to school buildings is a problem? I sure hope all the existing workers pass when they reapply.

timjbd

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:38 a.m.

How about getting Australian Shepherds or another of the herding dogs?

craigjjs

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 2:20 p.m.

No dog training necessary. Make the kids wear white wool sweaters and the dogs will do the rest.

John of Saline

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 2:04 p.m.

OK, this is creative thinking. There would be some training costs, of course.

thorj97

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:29 a.m.

I suppose votes at 1 am to provide double-digit raises for administrators at Balas have to be paid for by cuts somewhere. Too bad it has to come at the expense of those actually working in the schools.

towncryer

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:12 p.m.

Does seeing poverty make a thrill go up his leg too?

talker

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 4:02 p.m.

Plus, it's a "slippery slope." What workers will be the next to be pushed into lifetime poverty? Aren't they part of the 47% that Mitt Romney claims don't pay income taxes (because after paying SS taxes, etc. they don't earn enough to pay income taxes)? They aren't looking for handouts. They are looking for decent wages for the work they do, much of it supporting the ability of those in higher paying jobs to avoid having to do menial tasks. Judge a company, school district, local government, CEO, etc. by how they treat the lower level employees doing what used to be called "scut" work or something like that. As Chris Matthews of Hardball has said on several occasions, early in the morning he sees the near poverty workers waiting at bus stops to go to their jobs.

lefty48197

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 10:15 a.m.

People need pensions.

SonnyDog09

Tue, Sep 18, 2012 : 11:28 a.m.

Even people that work ten or less hours per week, Comrade?