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Editors, Daily Planet: 

It was with great interest that I read the commentary piece by Sally Reyes (Daily Planet, Sept. 12-14) regarding the failing grade that FCMAT gave Berkely Union School District, especially for its actions in the maintenance area. I am the union representative for the district’s maintenance and custodial workers, among others. FCMAT’s assessment is one we share as do the employees in the maintenance and custodial departments. We suffer the direct consequences of the district’s mismanagement. Those words are chose carefully and based on direct daily experience. 

BSEP provide some $70,000 for BUSD to hire professionals, consultants building maintenance and the custodial area. They produced two comprehensive reports with explicit recommendations for reorganizing these functions. Those reports were the basis for the reorganization plan passed by the board and for Measure BB that provides some $4 million annually to run a competent maintenance department.  

Virtually the first action that this administration took upon coming to Berkeley in the summer of 2001 was to throw out the board’s reorganization plan, the professional recommendations and replace it with one done by district staff. Then the maintenance director, who had had a long career in building maintenance in the private sector, was forced out. 

Subsequently, the custodial manager was laid off and supervision of the custodians was dumped back on overworked principals. This was a repeal of a key reform that the consultant said was essential to overhauling the custodial function.  

In our experience, there is very little accountability being demanded for these actions and the consequences that Ms. Reyes and FCMAT have documented so clearly. The board appears to have abandoned its oversight responsibilities, asks no questions nor challenges actions at odds with its own policies. 

We hope that the FCMAT a report card and op-ed pieces like Ms. Reyes’ will produce some badly needed changes. 

Sincerely, 

Stephanie Allan 

Business Representative, 

Stationary Engineers, Local 29, AFL-CIO