District 130 teachers and parents raise concerns about school cleanliness after delays in hiring new custodians

Teachers in south suburban Blue Island say the schools in the district are filthy, and the district says a delay in background checks for new custodians is to blame.

But teachers and parents are raising new questions about why it's taking so long to keep the schools consistently clean.

For weeks, teachers in Cook County School District 130 have rallied and drawn attention to what they call dirty unsanitary conditions inside the schools in Alsip, Blue Island, Crestwood, and Robbins. Complaints have even been filed with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Over the summer, the district hired HES Facilities Management to clean the schools.

The district said a delay in required background checks for the new custodians has contributed to the current conditions inside the schools.

"Now, as we wait for required background checks to be completed, our focus must be on getting the appropriate staffing in place," said District 130 Board of Education President Nicole Martinez.

A proposal obtained by the Illinois Education Association from June shows HES submitted a notarized affidavit to the district, saying that all custodians would be background checked three months before the bid was submitted.

HES said its screening process takes up to 48 hours, but several factors are involved in finding qualified candidates, according to the district. 

"Why is this taking so long, and why are we not getting the support that we need?" District 130 teacher and parent Elizabeth Marcanio said.

Union custodians were laid off in August, after contract negotiations broke down, and in part over attendance concerns, equipment maintenance, and inconsistent cleaning, according to the district.

"It really feels like the children don't matter at all," District 130 parent Victoria Garcia said.

Garcia said she kept her 6th grade daughter out of school for weeks because of the conditions. She also questioned why it's taking so long to get the new custodians to work.

"In my heart, I believe, I really want to believe that the district doesn't really think we're stupid, and doesn't really think that, you know, they can get away with whatever they would like to," she said.

"Yeah, just super confused, and would like them to end this," Marcanio said.

A representative from the district said that, once the contract was signed in August, the private custodial company needed to hire more employees to meet the district's needs, and those background checks are being completed now. 

The teachers' union is pushing for the previous custodians who are out of a job to be reinstated.