1. Stephenville Independent School District in Texas has six schools with approximately 3,700 students in grades K-12. Located
about an hour southwest of Fort Worth, Stephenville is a rural district with close ties to the students and families it serves. The
district works hard to ensure a healthy learning environment and holds a solid“Recognized”performance rating from the Texas
Education Agency. This rating places it among the top 30 percent of districts in the state.
Custodial
& Campus
Services
STEPHENVILLE
INDEPENDENT
SCHOOL DISTRICT
STEPHENVILLE, TX
Outsourcing for a “Win-Win”
THE DECISION TO OUTSOURCE
Part of achieving its mission of excellence
involves keeping the facilities clean and
the housekeeping staff engaged with
the school faculty and administrators. For
years, the custodial team was managed
and staffed in-house; but in 2007, the
district began considering alternatives,
said Superintendent of Schools Darrell G.
Floyd, Ed.D.
At the time, turnover in the custodial
department was high, costs were not
being efficiently managed, and results
were inconsistent. The district felt like it
needed to start exploring other options,
Floyd recalled.“We took bids, and SSC
ended up with the winning bid,”he says.
“It has been a win-win ever since.”
EASING THE TRANSITION
Today, SSC is responsible for cleaning
600,000 square feet, including six
classroom buildings and an administrative
office for the school district. The custodial
team is comprised of 37 employees and
includes a number of people who started
as district staff before the contract with
SSC began.
As with any big change, there was
some trepidation when the district first
partnered with SSC, recalled SSC Contract
Manager John Lane, who has been
instrumental in the partnership from the
start.“Some people thought we were
going to take out all the people they
knew and replace them with our people,”
he explains.
Especially in a school district as close-knit
as Stephenville, establishing the trust of
staff was critical, he said.
Once the custodial contract got
underway, it quickly became apparent
that SSC was committed to supporting

2. SSC is a member of Compass Group PLC
“I strongly advocate outsourcing custodial services. It helped save us
significant dollars and eliminated all personnel headaches in that
department. The end result is cleaner buildings for our students
and teachers. That’s what we’re after.”
DARRELL G.
FLOYD, ED.D.
Superintendent
of Schools
the existing staff and helping them
meet the district’s housekeeping goals.
From the outset, the district’s in-house
employees were offered positions with
SSC.“We had a little bit of turnover at the
front end, but we did not have a lot,”Lane
says.“We gave everybody the tools and
opportunity to succeed. If they chose
not to, they probably did not have the
organization’s best interests in mind.”
For a handful of housekeeping employees
who were close to retirement when SSC
came in, special arrangements were made
to keep them on as district employees.
The custodial partnership is built upon
being honest with people and treating
them fairly, Lane commented.“We’re
not just a support services company,”he
notes.“We’re part of the community.”
SOLVING OLD PROBLEMS
Upon partnering with Stephenville, SSC
addressed several key areas to support
the district’s goals, including:
• Personnel:“In one fell swoop,”SSC
solved the personnel problems within
housekeeping, Floyd related. With SSC,
housekeeping staff members are trained,
supported, and held accountable for
their work.
• Budget management: SSC
implemented a fixed cleaning
budget that covers both routine and
miscellaneous housekeeping needs
(such as sporting events).“Board
members and administrators appreciate
the ability to get a budget and know the
budget will cover the cost of custodial
services,”Floyd said.
• Consistency: In accordance with a
disciplined cleaning schedule, SSC
ensures that all housekeeping tasks—
from cleaning restrooms to buffing
floors—are done consistently and
thoroughly.
•“Easy button”approach: When issues
or special needs arise, teachers and
faculty can call the SSC on-site manager
directly and get matters resolved quickly,
without having to make multiple phone
calls.“It’s almost like an‘easy button,’Lane
related. Additionally, a quality control
notebook is in place at each facility, where
staff and others can express feedback
and concerns. Lane says that people
appreciate having the option to provide
feedback anonymously in this way.
RESULTS
For Stephenville, outsourcing with SSC
has produced impactful results, including:
• Cost savings: Floyd estimates that
his district saved over $150,000 in
its first year with SSC, but he notes
that this figure is actually higher if
you take into account the savings
related to unemployment insurance,
worker’s compensation, and employee
turnover/overtime. On average, Lane
estimates that outsourcing to SSC
saves Stephenville about 20 percent
annually in custodial costs.
• Cleaner buildings: Cleaning results are
measured by a monthly quality control
report card, where each of the seven
facilities grade SSC on comprehensive
criteria, such as cleaning of common
areas, cafeterias, and locker rooms.
Across the district, SSC consistently
receives As and Bs. Of the grades
submitted for the last quarter of 2012,
for example, SSC received:
October November December
As 46 41 46
Bs 0 1 1
Notably, these solid grades did not
waver in 2012 when Stephenville
welcomed new SSC Account Manager
Tamra Vancil, who took over for SSC’s
Tom McClusky when he moved to a
new role within the company.
“I just picked up where he left off,”Vancil
noted.“The dynamics here are almost
unexplainable,”she says.“Everyone just
comes together to help each other out.”
In summing up the district’s experience
with SSC, Floyd concludes,“I strongly
advocate outsourcing custodial services.
It helped save us significant dollars and
eliminated all personnel headaches in
that department. The end result is cleaner
buildings for our students and teachers.
That’s what we’re after.”