Following repeated concerns regarding problems in FCCPS’s buildings, the central office has initiated changes to the facilities department. Previously, the facilities staff were hired by FCCPS to cover regular maintenance. Beginning next year, the schools will instead hire vendors for more specific and advanced support.
FCCPS is still in the RFP (request for proposals) phase and has not chosen a vendor. The selected vendor will be required to interview any current FCCPS maintenance team member who indicates they would like the opportunity to interview for a position with said vendor. Ultimately, any hiring decisions and job details will be at the discretion of the vendor.
The goal of the change is to provide a safer school environment, improve outcomes, reduce downtime for repairs, increase preventative maintenance and ensure our buildings are serviced by specialists.
“We have aging buildings that require constant, nuanced care, alongside increasingly complicated modern systems. Our buildings now require deep, niche expertise that a traditional in-house crew cannot reasonably be expected to master across all trades,” explained Director of Facilities Kevin Mehm. “Moving to contracted services allows the district to tap into a pool of experts who hold these specific credentials, ensuring every repair is handled by a certified professional.”
This change will affect the system in which facilities are managed at FCCPS schools.
“This is not a cost-cutting measure, nor is it driven by a budget deficit. This is a budget-neutral decision. Every dollar currently allocated to maintenance will remain in maintenance. We are simply reallocating those funds to a different delivery model to get better results for the same investment,” Mehm commented.
Meridian Principal Peter Laub commented on the change and his goal to further support the learning environment.
“What we have in the school is really complex and difficult. My goal at the end of the day is just to have a functioning school,” he said.
However, not all feel the decision was made in a fair manner.
At the time of the decision, six employees would have been laid off. They were notified of the layoff at a meeting with the central office on Mar. 5.
“In that meeting someone that I have never met before informed me that my time as well as the rest of my maintenance colleagues would be coming to an end in a few, short months,” explained former FCCPS Maintenance Engineer Mark Stanton. “This came as a complete shock to us as there had been no prior feedback for the quality of our work and our performance that had been suggested that this was in our future.”
Stanton was not the only one who felt disrespected by the sudden decision.
Former Maintenance Building Technician Jose Fuentes, who spent 30 years working at Meridian expressed his opinion on the change.
“I got a phone call from HR and Chief of Operations, and that’s when I was given the devastating news,” he commented. “The Chief of Operations asked me if I was ‘shocked,’ which was a question that felt obvious and ridiculous.”
The mental toll of this decision has shaken him and his family.
“There seemed to be no compassion or consideration to my situation from leadership.”
Frustrated, Fuentes reached out to the FCCPS Facility Manager Kevin Mehm in search of an opportunity to work for the private vendors.
Mehm responded that he “does not have that information.”
According to Fuentes, he also requested letters of recommendation, which were denied to be “fair to [Fuentes] and the private company.”
“Since FCCPS still wants it to make it look good for them, they are trying to say that I’m retiring and even included my name and picture in the retirement ceremony,” Fuentes wrote. “I previously told the Director of Strategic Planning and Community Engagement to not include me in the ceremony because this is not a retirement, but a layoff. In addition to that, to ‘celebrate’ my ‘retirement’ and 30 years of my dedication, I was given a basic and generic thank you letter with a framed picture of the city.”
“To me, all of this has been a slap in the face and extremely invalidating to all my years of service.”
Individuals and Societies teacher and Falls Church City Education Association Union President Ms. Pam Mahony shared that many teachers in the building were very recently learning about the layoffs.
“The union asked central office to communicate the decision to all staff and they refused,” Mahony noted.
“We value our relationships here and the maintenance staff has been a part of our family for so long, and it is a real loss for us on staff.”
