Board to discuss terminating contract

JOEL DAVIDSON

Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Administration for the Mat-Su Borough School District does not support a proposal by two school board members to terminate a recently approved private custodial contract with NANA Management Services.

&#8220There is no cause for the termination and it seems to be arbitrary,” Chief School Administrator Bob Doyle said in a memo to board members.

On March 1, a divided school board voted 4-3 to approve a three-year deal with private contractor NANA, which effectively removes 112 district-employed custodians from next year's education budget.

The move to privatize custodial and light maintenance duties was recommended by district administration as a way to save $1.6 million next year, while still receiving quality cleaning in Mat-Su schools.

Opponents, however, have argued that NANA has an unproven track record in large school districts and have questioned whether the company will perform at the same level as government employees.

At the March 22 school board meeting, the school board voted to ask the Mat-Su Borough for an additional $2 million for next year's school budget. The board also voted to ask the state for a $4 million increase.

Whether these requests will be realized is still unknown but with a potential for $6 million in next year's budget, board member Linda Menard moved to put the NANA contract back before the school board. Member Rob Wells seconded the move.

With the possibility of more money, Menard said she wanted to see if board members had changed their minds about outsourcing custodial services.

District officials, however, say terminating the contract may be illegal since the district hasn't even had a chance to evaluate their quality of work.

&#8220The contractor has not been given an opportunity to perform,” Doyle stated in the memo, &#8220therefore, the results could be a large liability and legal lawsuits.”

The district's attorney is expected to give a legal analysis of the contract and options the board may consider.

The meeting takes place tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Palmer High School.

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266 or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.