When custodian Yolanda Stokes, known to many as Miss Lonnie, arrives at Lawrence North around 10 a.m., she prepares to care for the students and the building they use every day. She checks the cafeteria for messes throughout the lunch periods, and cleans the windows on the south end near door 19. She also participates socially around the school.
“I talk to a lot of students throughout the day. I go around and give some hugs if they come up to me. I’m here to spread the message of love and positivity,” Stokes said.
In order to look out for her students, Miss Lonnie and the other custodians have to use products that are safe for the students and staff. This year LN has decided to change their cleaning supplies and provider to Acorn Chemicals.
“We are using Betco products for a trial period to see what works,” head custodian Audie Melton said.
When picking the products, the staff must consider many factors such as how safe they are, how environmentally friendly they are and if they can have any negative impacts on anyone’s health. With over 2,000 students in the building, this leaves the staff with a lot to consider. Keeping the school clean and germ free for those who attend is a top priority.
“We try to find chemicals that are cost effective, that also give good performance. We had a consultant come in and find a new distributor. They then price checked the chemicals and it turned out they were a lot cheaper (from Acorn),” Melton said.
Here at LN, the changes will be seen more behind the scenes. The new chemicals come with hope that these new Betco chemicals will not only save the school money, but be just as, or more effective than the previous ones.
“Currently we are in the process of evaluating if these chemicals will be worth the change. It’ll take about a year or so for us to get a good idea and for the nurse to be able to tell us if illness has gone down,” Melton said
While some cleaning does happens during school hours, a lot of cleaning takes place after school.
“Each custodian has a certain square footage (area), that they are responsible for cleaning. I try to stress to them especially in the flu season to thoroughly clean all touchable surfaces, like doorknobs, phones or anything else students and staff may specifically touch often.”
With this plan set in place custodians are able to keep the school clean for all who come. In the small amount of time these changes have been implemented the majority of custodians have said that they like the change.
“A lot of the custodians have said they like the new chemicals. A few preferred the old, but a lot are ok with the change. They are pretty good, smell good too. There is even a dispensary machine that helps dispense the correct amount needed. That way we are able to produce less waste and make use of all that we have,” Melton said
Producing less waste and using chemicals strategically will not only cut down on any environmental impact but will also save LN more money when it comes to buying chemicals. Custodians do have a bigger role than just cleaning though.
“We have been known to band together and help students who couldn’t afford lunch, buy a lunch. We also pull students into rooms and talk to them if it looks like they are upset or need someone to talk to. Besides that, we help look for lost stuff in hopes of returning it. Sometimes we feel like counselors, friends and mothers,” Melton said.
LN decided to make a change to more cost effective chemicals for this school year. The change hopes to not only save money, but keep the building safer for the students and staff.