Home › Board Office › Board Policies › OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF PLANT
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF PLANT
FILE CODE: 3510
X Monitored
X Mandated
X Other Reasons
The board of education is responsible for providing school facilities that are safe from hazards, sanitary, properly equipped, lighted and ventilated and aesthetically suited to promoting the goals of the district. School buildings and site accommodations shall include provisions for individuals with disabilities pursuant to law and regulations.
The superintendent or his/her designee shall develop and enforce detailed regulations for the safe and sanitary operation of the buildings and grounds. The regulations shall be reviewed and adopted by the board, and explained to all staff annually at the beginning of each school year and when any changes are made.
The board secretary shall develop a multiyear comprehensive maintenance plan for board approval, to be updated annually.
Work Order System
The school district shall have an automated work order system by July 1, 2010 for prioritizing, performing and recording all maintenance and repair request for all district buildings and grounds.
A. The school business administrator shall establish in the standard operating procedures for business functions the approval and prioritization of work order requests which take into account the health and safety of building occupants, priorities and objectives established annually to carryout the district long-range plan, the need for the work requested, and other factors the district deems appropriate.
B. The work order system shall include the following information for a request for work before work begins, except in an emergency where the work is necessary to correct a situation that poses an imminent threat to the health or safety of students and/or staff:
1. The name of the person making the request;
2. The date of the request;
3. The appropriate approval(s) as established by Standard Operating Procedure (SOP);
4. The date of approval(s);
5. The location of work requested;
6. The priority level (for example, urgent, high, average, low);
7. The scheduled date(s) of service;
8. The trade(s) needed such as general maintenance worker; custodian; carpenter; plumber; electrician; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); grounds; roofer; masonry; glazer; other;
9. A description of the work requested;
10. A projection of the materials and supplies needed for the work;
11. The estimated man hours needed to complete task;
12. The name of the work order assigner; and
13. The name of the employee(s) working on the order.
C. The work order system shall include the following close-out information for each request for work:
1. The actual hours worked by date for each assigned staff member;
2. The actual hourly rate paid, both regular and over-time, for each assigned staff member;
3. The aggregate cost of labor by regular, over-time and total;
4. The actual materials and supplies needed to complete the work order;
5. Actual cost of materials and supplies; and
6. The name of the employee responsible for attesting that the job was completed satisfactorily.
D. Except where prohibited by collective bargaining agreement, the SOP shall require for any work, which cannot be completed during regular working hours by the needed completion date, an assessment of the cost-benefit of outsourcing any such work in excess of the quote threshold as determined by law.
E. Where, according to the assessment, the cost of outsourcing work is less than the in-house estimated cost of labor, at over-time rates, and materials for the same work, the work shall be outsourced provided the work can be contracted in accordance with law, completed by the projected completion date contained in the prioritized work order system and does not violate the terms of the collective bargaining agreement for maintenance workers and/or custodians.
F. The school business administrator in consultation with the supervisor responsible for this work shall conduct an analysis of the information in the work order system no later than February 1 of the prebudget year for consideration during budget preparation. The analysis should include productivity of staff as a whole and individually, significant variations between estimated labor time and materials and actual labor time and materials, unusual trends for like projects and other factors that will improve productivity and efficiency.
Integrated Pest Management
The New Jersey School Integrated Pest Management Act of 2002 requires schools to implement a school integrated pest management policy. In accordance with the requirements of the Act, the board shall implement Integrated Pest Management (IPM) procedures to control pests and minimize exposure of children, faculty, and staff to pesticides. These procedures shall be applicable to all school property in the Warren Township School District.
IPM Coordinator (IPMC)
The supervisor of building and grounds shall be designated as the integrated pest management coordinator and is responsible for the implementation of the school integrated pest management policy.
Integrated pest management procedures in schools
Implementation of IPM procedures will determine when to control pests and whether to use mechanical, physical, cultural, biological or chemical methods. Applying IPM principles prevents unacceptable levels of pest damage by the most economical means and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.
The integrated pest management coordinator (IPMC) shall consider the full range of management options, including no action at all. Non-pesticide pest management methods are to be used whenever possible. The choice of using a pesticide shall be based on a review of all other available options and a determination that these options are not effective or not reasonable. When it is determined that a pesticide must be used, low impact pesticides and methods are preferred and shall be considered for use first.
Development of IPM plans
The school business administrator, in collaboration with the building principals and building custodians and the IPMC will be responsible for the development of the school IPM plan for the school district. The school IPM plan is a blueprint of how the school district will manage pests through IPM methods. The school district’s IPM plan states the school’s goals regarding the management of pests and the use of pesticides for the school district’s property. It will reflect the school’s site-specific needs and describe how each component of the school IPM policy and regulation will be implemented at the school. For public schools, the superintendent, in collaboration with the school building administrator, shall be responsible for the development of the IPM plan for this school.
Education /Training
The school community will be educated about potential pest problems and IPM methods used to achieve the pest management objectives. The IPMC, other school staff and pesticide applicators involved with implementation of the school IPM policy will be trained in appropriate components of IPM as it pertains to the school environment.
Students, parents/guardians will be provided information on this policy and instructed on how they can contribute to the success of the IPM program.
Record keeping
Records of pesticide use shall be maintained on site to meet the requirements of the state regulatory agency and the school board.
Records shall also include, but are not limited to, pest surveillance data sheets and other non-pesticide pest management methods and practices utilized.
Notification/Posting
The building principal of each school, working with the IPMC, is responsible for timely notification to students’ parents or guardians and the school staff of pesticide treatments pursuant to the School IPM Act.
Re-entry
Re-entry to a pesticide treated area shall conform to the requirements of the School IPM Act.
Pesticide applicators
The IPMC shall ensure that applicators follow state regulations, including licensing requirements and label precautions, and must comply with all components of the School IPM Policy.
Evaluation
The school business administrator will report annually to the board on the effectiveness of the IPM plan and make recommendations for improvement as needed.
Date: April 26, 2004
Revised: November 23, 2009
NJSBA Review/Update: January 2008
Readopted: June 23, 2008
Key Words
Operation and Maintenance of Plant, Buildings and Grounds, Maintenance
N.J.S.A. 13:1F-19
through -33 "School Integrated Pest Management Act"
N.J.S.A. 18A:17-49
through -52 Buildings and grounds supervisors to be certified educational facilities managers
N.J.S.A. 18A:22-8 Contents of budget; program budgeting system
N.J.S.A. 34:5A-1 et seq. Worker and Community Right to Know Act
N.J.S.A. 34:6A-25 et seq. New Jersey Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health Act
N.J.A.C. 5:23 Barrier free subcode of the uniform construction code
N.J.A.C. 6A:26-12.1 et seq. Operation and Maintenance of Facilities
See particularly:
N.J.A.C. 6A:26-12.2(a)1, 2
N.J.A.C. 6A:30-1.1 et seq. Evaluation of the Performance of School Districts
N.J.A.C. 6A:32-12.1 Reporting requirements
N.J.A.C. 7:30-13.1 et seq. Integrated Pest Management