Maya McFadden Photo
Supt. Negrón (right), speaking to the Board of Education: "We are a city and a district that prides ourself in working with unionized workers."
(Updated) The Board of Education voted to throw out a $5.8 million deal with the district’s new part-time custodial contractor after a different RFP respondent complained that New Haven’s bidding process was unfair.
The school board took that vote Monday during its latest meeting at John C. Daniels School.
The vote came after school board members and New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Supt. Madeline Negrón spoke in private during an executive session about the contract, a $5.8 million agreement with the Ohio-based ServiceMaster Elite Janitorial Services that the Board of Education approved in June.
After the executive session ended and the public portion of Monday’s meeting resumed, Negrón explained the problem.
She said that, last month, the school district renegotiated its agreement with ServiceMaster to include a collective bargaining agreement with the SEIU 32BJ union. Negrón said that the school district “should have gone back to inquire with all of the bidders” about the union terms, which increased the underlying ServiceMaster contract by more than $400,000.
On Monday, in an attempt to stay true to the district’s procurement process, she recommended the school put the request for proposals (RFP) back out to bid to be fair to all vendors.
“We are a city and a district that prides ourself in working with unionized workers and that is why, once that was flagged, although that was a question in the RFP process, we now want to make it more explicit this time around so all of those things will be included,” she said.
In a comment provided to the Independent, NHPS spokesperson Justin Harmon added that an unnamed different RFP respondent submitted a “protest” of the district’s contract with ServiceMaster. “While we are confident that all parties acted in good faith during the original procurement process, the substance of the protest is that not all shortlisted respondents were provided the opportunity to submit a best and final offer,” he wrote. “To ensure procedural fairness and full transparency, the Board decided that a cancellation and rebid are in the public interest.”
See below for Harmon’s comment in full.
Negrón said on Monday that the RFP will be put back out on an “expedited schedule.” The RFP will be posted July 16 and responses will be collected through Aug. 1. After scoring bidders, the district will put forth a new recommendation for a part-time custodial contractor at the school board’s Sept. 8 meeting.
Board of Education Vice President Matt Wilcox noted Monday that ServiceMaster has not yet received any funds from district, as it has not begun any work.
Also during Monday’s meeting, the school board voted to give a final approval to a $1.4 million contract with its former part-time custodial services vendor, SJ Services. The contract for summer deep cleaning and school year building prep with SJ Services will last through Sept. 30.
Board of Education member Andrea Downer reminded the school before before the vote that “SJ Services has not been good to this public school district.” The district most recently dropped SJ Services as New Haven’s part-time custodial contractor due to concerns with the company’s quality of work.
Mayor Justin Elicker, who also serves on the school board, said that the district would have been paying a vendor for summer cleaning regardless, and so the 90-day extension does not constitute spending additional funds.
The board voted 6 – 1 to approve the SJ Services interim contract, with Downer casting the sole dissenting vote.
NHPS Comment On RFP Snafu
See NHPS spokesperson Justin Harmon’s full comment below.
The New Haven Board of Education at its meeting July 14, 2025 authorized the cancellation of an award for part-time custodial services so that New Haven Public Schools can issue a new request for proposal. The Board acted to address multiple potential anomalies with the prior RFP process and award, including the circumstances under which the bidder that was initially selected had revised its proposal and increased the cost to cover union wages.
The Board had approved a contract award at higher pricing than that included in the bidder’s initial RFP response, as the initial response did not include union wages. Part-time custodians are members of the SEIU 32BJ union under a collective bargaining agreement with the incumbent (as with the previous vendor). Some respondents to the RFP included union wages in their proposals, others did not. All respondents should have been given an opportunity for a best and final offer to include union wages.
The decision follows receipt and evaluation of a protest submitted by another RFP respondent. While we are confident that all parties acted in good faith during the original procurement process, the substance of the protest is that not all shortlisted respondents were provided the opportunity to submit a best and final offer. To ensure procedural fairness and full transparency, the Board decided that a cancellation and rebid are in the public interest.
While the RFP and addenda referred to union representation, the reference was arguably ambiguous, and it was not included in the evaluation criteria. A new RFP will allow clarification of critical terms relating to labor recognition. Specifically, the new RFP will reinforce the expectation that the successful respondent must recognize and work in good faith with the SEIU Union 32BJ and its members — workers who contribute directly to the safety and cleanliness of schools, as well as to the livability and dignity of the New Haven community. It also will stipulate that workers be paid a livable wage.
The new RFP will proceed on an expedited schedule. The schedule is expected to include new RFP issuance by July 16 and responses due by August 1. The goal will be to complete scoring and have a recommendation for the BOE at its September 8 meeting.
The BOE also approved an extension of the S.J. Services agreement for 90 days to allow transition to the new vendor (if S.J. were not selected). This arrangement will ensure custodial services are provided during the remainder of the summer so that schools are ready to open in late August; it will not add to the cost of the year’s custodial services.
On Thursday, SJ Services (SJS) Director of Client Services David Shea told the Independent that his company was not the one that filed the protest over the Board of Education-ServiceMaster contract. He also that SJS plans to apply for the contract once the new RFP is released.
“We employee nearly 200 New Haven residents in the custodial profession,” he said, “and we know SJS can be a strong partner with the New Haven school district in providing safe and healthy schools.”
Watch the full Board meeting above.