NEWS
New Haven schools tap Mass. company for $4.7 million cleaning deal
Linda Conner Lambeck
Aug. 9, 2022
Brian Zahn / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo
NEW HAVEN — A Massachusetts-based company will replace a local firm in providing part-time custodial services for the city school system starting this fall.
The contract awarded to S.J. Services of Danvers, Mass., promises to save the district money, but at least one school board member voiced concern over the bidding process and dissatisfaction reported by some of S.J.’s past customers.
“Was there any due diligence done regarding the bidders,” asked board member Darnell Goldson, the only one of seven board members to vote against the contract Monday.
Goldson said he wondered why the contract, which expired in June, wasn’t put out to bid until May, and why the bid review committee consisted of just two members.
The contract will be for one year, for $4.7 million, with the option to renew for up to four more years. In all, the contract could be worth $27.7 million, the board was told.
Eco Urban Pioneers, the New Haven-based firm that has been providing part-time custodial services to the district for seven years, bid a package that was $361,198 higher in the first year and as much as $3.7 million more over five years, according to district documents.
Shafiq Abdussabur, owner of Eco Urban, told the board Monday that it should not be awarding a multi-year contract during a time of severe inflation.
“This may not bring out the financial outcomes the Board of Education is looking for,” said Abdussabur, adding his firm has hired hundreds of city residents, provided clean schools throughout the pandemic and has taken contract reductions to help the district.
Officials from S.J. Services could not immediately be reached for comment.
Michael Finley, chief of staff for the school district, said the selection committee consisted of just himself and city Budget Director Michael Gormany instead of an initial five due to scheduling issues. Also, Thomas Lamb, the district’s chief operating officer, said he recused himself from the process because of a previous working relationship he had with one of the five bidders for the contract. That bidder was not one of the two finalists.
Finley said the entire process was guided by the city’s purchasing department.
“Though cost was not the only contributing factor, it was a major consideration,” Finley said. The district is under constant pressure to keep its budget from going into a deficit situation, officials said, and the vendor also agreed to add 20 additional part-time custodians to accommodate district needs.
Goldson questioned whether a thorough background check had been done. S.J. Services offered a number of letters of recommendation from longtime customers, but according to published reports also had its contract revoked by the Gardner, Mass., school district in 2019 over alleged performance issues.
“I don’t want that kind of business in New Haven Public Schools,” Goldson said.
Finley said he reviewed references but was unaware of the issues Goldson raised, and Gormany said online reviews he found on the company were positive.
“We’ve had other vendors that were brought in over the years that may have had a bad experience in one place but have done great in New Haven,” Gormany said.
Board member Ed Joyner said money saved in operations can be directed to instruction.
Joyner said he trusts the decision to go with S.J. Services as long as all vendors had the opportunity to submit their best bid, and is closely monitored to make sure the company lives up to the agreement and keeps schools clean.
Lamb said there will be monthly inspections, and an evaluation in concert with school principals.
Matt Wilcox, school board vice chair and chair of the finance committee, agreed.
“Do we have an extra $3.7 million (over five years) to put into the cleaning of the classroom?” he asked.
Wilcox said it would have been easier to go with the current vendor, which is highly respected in the community. “This is the more difficult choice,” he said.
Abdussabur was a city alder before resigning the position in June after submitting a bid for the new custodial cleaning contract. He called it a conflict to both bid for city work and serve as one of its elected officials.
Services has committed to hire the existing staff, Wilcox said. Lamb said the union will work with the new vendor to transition staff and that the company will open an office in the city.
Mayor Justin Elicker, a member of the school board, said with the start of school a couple of weeks away, the contract should be awarded. “I am confident of the procurement process, that it was legal and appropriate,” Elicker said.
After the meeting, Abdussabur said in an email that Eco-Urban has worked since 2009 to provide hundreds of job opportunities for city residents.
“We look forward to continued contract opportunities in the future with the City of New Haven and the New Haven Board of Education,” he said.
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