As I was reading the latest Sun-Times exposé on filthy Chicago Public Schools, my mind flashed back to a conversation I had in 2014 with Lenny, an old pal who’s worked as a CPS janitor for years.
The point was to get fewer janitors to do more work in less time so there’s more money for the people who own the the firms that got the contract. In this case, they figured to save money by doing away with rinsing the floor.
Or as Sun-Times education reporter Lauren FitzPatrick put it: “CPS handed control over the bulk of its custodians—about 1,700 full-time positions—to two private contractors. Officials said at the time the $340 million move would result in cleaner schools.”
Man, Cawley got so carried away during his presentation, I half expected him to start speaking in tongues.
