The District Maintenance Department processes more than 60,000 work orders annually and maintains more than 30,000,000 square feet of buildings and associated grounds across approximately 600 square miles of Broward County. This department is responsible for maintaining everything from historical sites built in the 1920s to the modern, state of the art, computerized school being built today.

Within each facility there are hundreds of pieces of equipment, ranging from gym floors to auditorium ceilings, to 500-ton chillers to wall hung AC units, to kindergarten playgrounds to technological classrooms and everything in between.

The job of maintaining district facilities and equipment is a daily challenge. Increased student enrollment, the addition of new schools, the continuing use of portable classrooms and limited financial resources have added to those challenges.

Deputy Superintendent Jim Notter assembled a Leadership Team from members of maintenance management and asked them to provide the vision necessary to address these logistical issues and form a plan to efficiently and effectively provide maintenance services including:

• Streamlining processes
• Reducing response time
• Increasing efficiency and cost-effectiveness
• Providing accurate work schedules and equitable distribution of resources
• Providing more accurate data, improved reports and enhanced accountability tracking
• Improving communications
• Reducing paperwork

Keep an eye open for a survey (school and administrative sites) that will be distributed soon. The Maintenance Department wants to know how you feel about the quality and quantity of the various services provided. You can send your comments or concerns via E-mail to MOP_Clerical, or call Maintenance Operations & Planning at 954-202-1032.

Construction Contracts Web Page Launched

In an effort to make the District’s construction bidding schedule and contract awards information available to the hundreds of architects, engineers, contractors and others who inquire about these efforts daily, the Compliance and Contracts Department recently launched its own Internet Web site at
(www.broward.k12.fl.us/constructioncontracts
/home/home001.htm).

By accessing the site, you can determine the status of dozens of construction projects, freeing up the department’s staff to process the paperwork necessary to award contracts, advertise projects and complete the pre-qualification process.

Planned enhancements to the site will enable access to contractor performance, comparable costs and generic construction contract documents.

The department wants the site to grow to become full-service, so it can provide free, downloadable bidding documents, post bid results, communicate with bidders and disseminate other information not on the DemandStar system currently being used.

While many school districts are looking to cut their budgets and have even proposed asking teachers to take days off as unpaid days, the Broward County School District is pleased that it has reached an agreement with the Broward Teachers Union that provides increases for our teachers.

Below are some of the highlights of the agreement, which was formally approved by the School Board on November 12. 2002.

• Average Wage Increase – 5.5% effective the first day of the employees’ 2002-2003 work calendar
• Increase supplements by 5.5% effective the first day of the employees’ 2002-2003 work calendar




• Increase Advance Degrees effective January 22, 2003


• Increase incentives effective January 22, 2003
• A Letter of Agreement to explore the development of a flexible spending
program that will provide health and welfare insurance options for employees
• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification teachers shall receive a 5% performance based pay bonus or a $2,205 supplement, whichever is higher. Those employees who are not eligible or qualified to participate in the National Board Certification process shall be eligible to participate in the alternative program, Broward County Recognition Program (BCRP). Those employees who successfully complete the BCRP shall be eligible for a 5% performance pay bonus. If the number of participants who qualify for the pay for performance bonus for local recognition program is equivalent to those who receive the supplement/bonus for the NBPTS, the parties shall negotiate a supplement minimum similar to that received by the NBPTS (currently $2,205.) If the legislation is repealed requiring the 5% pay for performance bonus, the parties will negotiate its continuance or elimination
• School-aged children of employees shall be eligible to attend school at the employees’ work location
• Continue the Professional Development Task Force Committee through the end of 2002-2003 to address the issues including, but not limited to, the use of planning time, early release days, staff development at faculty meetings, National Board teachers and other areas of concern related to professional development
• The parties agree to establish a Teacher Corps to increase the educational qualification of teachers