As a “walking district”, Grosse Pointe Public Schools makes winter weather maintenance a priority. With inexperienced drivers and limited parking space, dangerous roads can be a major problem. South’s Supervisor of Custodial Operations, Randall Baker, works to keep South students and staff safe to come to school each week in the colder months.
Baker works in tandem with South custodial staff and district-wide services to ensure that staff and students can get to school safely. Work is done ideally between cold weather events and planning follows forecasts.
“A general rule would be snow plowing around 1 or 2 a.m. and sidewalks around 3 or 4 a.m.,” Baker said. “If it is not forecasted snowfall doesn’t happen until near school start time, we get everyone available to clear snow and salt as soon as possible.”
Depending on parking lot sizes, staff members are assigned by the Maintenance Supervisor for areas to work. South by itself has three trucks assigned to its parking lots. Baker emphasizes the importance of good functioning equipment.
“Staff stays in communication through the night and assists each other in case of any equipment breakdowns and to get the lots done on a timely basis,” Baker said. “If it is an ongoing snowfall, staff will start the process over again until the snow event is finished working around arrival and dismissal times.”
The two to four-hour process begins when the Site Custodian sets a time according to the forecast to begin plowing and salting the walkways. At 6 a.m., two daytime engineers begin salting and shoveling all of the entryways since tractors cannot get close to the doorways, starting with handicapped entrances and the Boll Center. Sometimes, custodians help to clear snow before school starts in extreme cases. Walks are salted after they are plowed and shoveled, and roughly 800-1200 lbs of salt is used for the walkways alone.
“Once the snow event is finished each lot is then salted to prevent any ice buildup,” Baker said. “Anywhere from 1000-3000 lbs. of salt is used each event depending on the amount of snow or ice. Plowing and salting of the lots can take anywhere from one to four hours depending on the snow depth or type of snow (light or heavy/slushy).”
When a snow/ice day is called, Baker says it is a relief and allows the process to occur with less urgency. The work is taxing and difficult, considering every 50 lb bag of salt is loaded by hand into the salt spreaders.
“The work is tiring due to our maintenance staff having to adjust sleep schedules,” Baker said. “The shoveling and salting at the school is demanding, as well.”
