In January 2022, we began an exciting new partnership with the South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC). We were honored to be chosen through an RFP process and entrusted to provide over 16,000 students with a clean and safe environment where they could learn and thrive.
As we collaborated and were welcomed into the SBCSC community, we invested in the district, partnered with community businesses and leaders, funded additional positions, and empowered employees – many of them South Bend residents – through scholarships and professional development initiatives. We drove operational excellence through innovations like cutting-edge robotics and facilities assessments, leading to a 98% work order completion rate.
Our grounds management team made history when SBCSC became the first public school district in 52 years to win a Green Star Award from the Professional Grounds Management Society. Year over year, we reduced preventive and corrective maintenance costs, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings.
This week, we were saddened to learn that SBCSC decided to bring custodial, maintenance, and grounds services in-house. While we are understandably disappointed to leave the outstanding people and partners we’ve worked with, our sincere hope is that this new direction will not divert focus and resources from providing outstanding opportunities and education to the community. To avoid disruptions in service and significant costs financially, we offered alternative solutions and additional support, but the district ultimately decided to go in a different direction.
We are incredibly proud of what our partnership achieved and the impact we’ve made together. We are thankful to SBCSC for allowing us to deliver value, support its mission, and elevate its facilities management program to make a positive impact on its schools and community over the past three years.
