For the second time this year, the Board of Ed has ended a contract with a controversial Philadelphia-based company, this time for managing school buildings.
The Board of Ed (BOE) nnounced Monday night that it is ending its facilities management contract with Aramark.
Now it’s negotiating a $1.083 million contract with a successor: Alfonso and Joseph Barbarotta’s (pictured) Bridgeport-based AFB Construction Management will likely replace Aramrak beginning July 1 in managing all the school system’s buildings, facilities, and energy. The new contract will cost $300,000 a year less than Aramark’s.
At Monday night’s BOE meeting, Chief Operating Officer Will Clark was authorized to negotiate final details with AFB, which has received rave reviews from its clients, including the Stamford public school system, and, notably, that system’s unions.
A campaign by public school unions resulted in the non-renewal of Aramark’s contract as the manager of the system’s food services and, last month, the decision to take that work in-house.
Click here, and here to read previous stories about Aramark’s woes.
Clark said that while self-management of facilities is an option, “The times are too precarious financially for us to manage both food services and facilities on our own. In the food area, the regulations are increasingly complex, and we are chasing real money savings. Our attention has to be laser-like on that. One at time, please!.”
Of four bidders for the contract, Clark said, only two were deemed appropriate by the BOE search committee to be interviewed, AFB and Aramark.
Clark (pictured at the top of this story standing on the left with BOE member Michael Nast, and, seated, BOE chair Brian Perkins and Superintendent Reginald Mayo) said the decision was unanimous.
The BOE was impressed with AFB’s computer-based work order system specifically tailored to the New Haven school system. Custodians have complained that work orders, which in the Aramark system, have been called in, frequently get lost in space, and accountability and action suffer.
“Their model for training our staff,” Clark added, “is also impressive, as were the kudos of the unions with whom they work in Stamford and Trumbull.”
“Yes,” Clark said, “morale issues for our staff were part of the decision. With a new company, with a fresh perspective on how jobs are done, we’ll be able to take the next step.”
Neither Clark nor the Barbarotta brothers — Alfonso is president and CEO and Joseph is the facilities director — indicated any immediate staffing changes in the works either for the unionized custodians or for their supervisors. As with Aramark, AFB will be supervising the supervisors (this duplication was one of the unions’ long-time complaints) and reporting to Clark. “What I like about this company,” Clark said, “is that they will be proactive,” suggesting that Aramark, at least as of late, has been reactive. “And their good management will keep things off my desk!”
Clark was at pains to say that Aramark, which began working in New Haven in 1993, had done a good job, had been on budget, and was a particularly important contributor in innovations managing energy. “What they’ve done saves us the $1 million cost of the contract,” he said.
He was hopeful that the new managers, AFB, would be able to transition quickly, with the help of Aramark, to understanding the complicated energy systems that now are part of the system, especially the new schools.
Preserving such energy gains is one reason, Clark said, that going in-house is not appropriate yet. “It would be foolhardy for us to risk trying to do that on our own. We’d have to hire outside people in any event.”
BOE member Richard Abbatiello (at right in photo) was impressed with the importance of a smaller company and a Connecticut-base company.
“They will be here doing the job, and we will be dealing with these gentlemen, not corporate people in Philadelphia.”
Another strength that AFB offered, said Clark, was a night shift supervisor. “Seventy-five percent of the cleaning of the buildings goes on at night. When so many of your staff are working, it will be good to have supervisors there on hand. Theoretically, Aramarktoo was available, by phone, but physically they weren’t there.”
“We understand the issues here,” Joseph Barbaraotta said, “and we are interested in listening to the custodians, to the people doing the job. It’s all about building trust.”
BOE member Michael Nast said that New Haven has more than twice as many schools as Stamford. “Do you have the staff for us?”
“We’ve been planning and even hiring since we began to interview with you. We’ll hit the ground running.”
Custodians’ rep Larry Dorman, pokesman for Council 4 of AFSCME, said, “We’re pleased that the mayor, superintendent, and aldermen listened to our concerns about Aramark, and we’re going to work in good faith with the new company.”
He said self-management remains the unions’ long term goal. “We’re glad we were heeded, and we hope they understand that the people who do the work know best.”
Search committee members included Clark, Abbatiello, Sue Weisselberg, head of school construction, and purchasing agent for the city, Michael Fumiatti.
AFB has also managed Trumbull public school system facilities since 1986, including supervision of construction of a new $23 million performing arts school.
Well isn't that interesting, they are going to put a night supervisor on nights to supervise the night supervisors!!!! Hip HIp Hooray! Now someone will actually be on hand to see exactly what they do not do on the job. Now the supervisors want to work with the new company to make things better, are they happy now that they will have someone looking over their shoulder? Whereas Aramark was trying to give them the authority they wanted but still couldn't get any work out of them. That will now change!! The GPS on their trucks stay because that is city property not Aramarks', so they lost that one too, oh well!! Maybe the custodians will now see some help from their supervisors. How dare Mr Clark say that the new company will "Keep things off his desk"!. If he wants to keep things running smoothly he had better make sure he oversees the process. He says that in one sentence, then say's he wants the stuff "Off his desk" in another. Make up your mind. But then again, that's what the city is best known for INCONSISTENCY AND CONFUSION !!!!!!!! Let's see how the principals do with this new company. They have been given such power by Dr. Mayo and Aramark jumped thru hoops for them. Let's see how AFB handles them. They have no idea what they are in store for. NEW HAVEN IS ONE OF A KIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!