CCISD recognizes Custodian and Groundskeepers Week

 By WENDY SLEDD

For Laura Quinones, she never thought she would be in the career field she works in today. Yet, she made the decision to leave an office job for that of a custodial worker. She and her husband made the leap of faith together realizing there was something unfulfilling in their clerical positions. “I really wanted to find my way back to a child-oriented career. My husband… decided he wanted a change of pace as well and applied for a job with (Copperas Cove ISD) as a floor maintenance technician,” Quinones said. “I said, ‘Well, why not become a custodian myself? I figured it would be a step in the right direction to study the school district environment and see how different positions function and ultimately move forward into other positions within the district later on.” Quinones has been with CCISD for six years and joins 85 other custodians in CCISD that clean buildings measuring a total square footage of nearly 1.5 million feet. Break that down into just hallways not counting classrooms, cafeterias and other common areas and it equates to 28 miles. Claudia Wintersdorf has served 26 years as a custodian at CCISD. District maintenance director Steve Schwausch is not surprised by the longevity. Sept. 27–Oct.3 is School Custodian and Groundskeeper Recognition Week. “Our custodial staff and maintenance crew really take ownership of their buildings and their grounds,” Schwausch said. “And, that makes all the difference.” CCISD employs a total of eight maintenance employees that are responsible for groundskeeping duties on 327 acres. His longest tenured employee has been on staff with CCISD for 17 years and cited it’s the people he works with and knowing that he has a hand in helping children with their education as his reasons for staying on the job for nearly two decades. “At CCISD, our custodians don’t just take care of our school buildings, but the most important contents within the school, our students,” Quinones said. “We take pride in what we do, giving our schools a distinction from other districts and garnering compliments from visitors on the cleanliness of our schools.” Quinones said that sometimes in society there is a certain stigma around positions of labor, but she believes all jobs have an importance. “Custodians are there when our students arrive each day. They are there when our students leave for the day, and they are there on Family Nights, Open House, weekend games in the gyms, our stadiums, and school festivals. It’s literally a dirty job, but we are willing to do it to keep our children in a safe and healthy learning environment.”