Important Message from Dr. Cain
March 18, 2020 ~ To the WSD Custodial Team
Good Afternoon,
Our emergency district closure presents many challenges. We are all in a unique and rapidly-changing situation and we are working to put processes in place that make sense for our staff, our students and our families. We are all going to need to be flexible as conditions continue to evolve. We would like to clarify a few items:
Last week when we spoke with you and sent messaging out, we did not know schools would be closed on Monday.
The decision to allow students, parents and staff in buildings was necessary;
Parents and students needed to pick up items they would need during the extended closure like medications and learning materials
Teachers needed to pick up necessary materials to prepare to teach our students during the extended closure
Our District has a tremendous responsibility to our community. We are one of the largest employers of people and the caretakers of the families in our community. The District is choosing to pay its employees to support them through what could be a catastrophic economic disaster if we weren't paying people or if we were forcing them to take leave during these days. There are many groups of people working to keep the District running right now. For example, we have payroll, purchasing and accounts payable employees coming in to continue paying bills, run payroll and conduct business in order to keep the District running. They will have to come in throughout the closure. There are people in Human Resources who are continuing to work with and support employees, continue all employment processes, and handle the main switchboard. We have food service employees helping to prepare food for families who need it and counselors working to ensure our growing number of at-risk families have access to critical resources and assistance. Our teachers are creating learning experiences for kids and will support the learning of our students in a variety of formats over the course of the closure. It's important that we keep everyone safe, but we also have to keep essential functions going. With that in mind, we have developed a revised plan for our custodians:
CUSTODIAL PLAN MOVING FORWARD:
Scheduled custodial shifts will continue through this Friday, March 20.
There is an immediate opportunity to volunteer to be on the electrostatic and antimicrobial spray teams, which will consist of up to 16 people (from here referred to as “spray teams”); this process requires a commitment.
Following spring break, there may be additional volunteer opportunities for special projects in the buildings.
The 4894 Agreement outlines procedures for being called in for special projects and overtime. This overtime list will be followed for both the “spray teams” and the special projects; however, we may need additional volunteers. Please email Heather Loche and Hasan Nasufovic no later than Friday, March 20, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. if you would like to be considered for voluntary work or special projects during the closure. Once the OT list is exhausted, additional volunteers will be called in based on district seniority. Volunteers who are called in to work will be paid time and a half for that time.
We care about the safety and wellbeing of every WSD employee and student. Our custodial staff members are labeled as "critical" because you are vital to the health and safety of others. When we open our doors back up to students and staff, it is absolutely critical that our schools be clean and disinfected. Our staff, students, families and our community trust that we will do this and we need you to make that happen. We cannot stress enough how important your role is in keeping our students and staff healthy and safe. Thank you for pressing forward and thank you for your attention to detail as we all work together to ensure our community will come out of this pandemic okay.
Thank you everyone,
Curtis Cain, Ph.D.
Superintendent