Coming soon to a school near you is Mesa Public Schools’ Blue Crew.
The evening maintenance team is designed to complement the day operations staff in addressing campus maintenance issues.
The Blue Crew is taking a proactive approach to maintaining school facilities at a level that continues to allow educators to provide a safe and positive learning environment for students. A total of seven skilled tradesmen make up the Blue Crew, including painters, carpenters, plumbers and electricians. All are outfitted with a stocked minivan warehouse on wheels.
“There are times when operations cannot gain access to certain areas of a campus during school hours,” said Todd Poer, director of operations. “Sometimes we have to close restrooms, or turn off water or the power. Having our Blue Crew take care of these things after hours eliminates being disruptive during classroom instruction.”
The Blue Crew focuses on one site at a time. This allows the team to perform preventative maintenance on aging items, which reduces the number of new site-based work orders, along with increasing workflow efficiency, while saving time and money. The day maintenance staff assists the Blue Crew by completing a variety of aesthetic projects, which includes restriping parking lots, painting curbs, assessing roofing issues, manicuring landscapes and deep cleaning campuses.
“We want principals and staff to feel they are getting our undivided attention,” Todd said. “By the time we complete the final walkthroughs with the principals, we will have addressed everything on their list, and the campus shines.”
Principals complete an initial visit to address issues and concerns with their campuses. They are updated on the progress throughout the project.
“The Blue Crew went above and beyond to take care of our school and our needs,” stated Monica Torres, principal at Longfellow Elementary School. “They ticked everything off our checklist in a timely manner, and our campus sparkles. The Blue Crew rocks!”
For more information about all Mesa Public Schools, please visit mpsaz.org.