Making the most of summer maintenance
The Maintenance & Facility Services department has been hard at work getting the district ready for the 2022-2023 school year. While each summer project takes time and effort—especially in the 100-degree weather—every Maintenance & Facility Services crew is proud to support students across Dallas ISD.
Cesar Villarreal, director of maintenance, said his team’s efforts are currently focused on ACE campuses. They are updating carpets, wood floors, walls and ceilings, and they are painting and helping with graphics. The summer months tend to bring extra condensation, so they are also prioritizing condensation and plumbing issues.
“Any project that we put on our summer list gets completed,” Villarreal said. “I’ve been here for 37 years, and we have always met that deadline. We take pride in our work, and we understand that our job is to make sure that our customers feel welcome and that every building looks good when the students start.”
Coy Frazier, director of grounds and athletic fields, is ensuring that the grounds throughout the district maintain their “drive-up appeal” by watering, fertilizing and irrigating them. Frazier is also working to update several baseball and softball fields with new brick dugouts, brick backstops and batting cages. His team’s mission is to provide students with high-quality facilities for the upcoming sports seasons, which started with new turf for the football fields and is now expanding to track, baseball and softball fields.
Meanwhile, close to 1,000 full-time staff are combing through all district schools to provide “a detailed clean on every campus.” Aaron Stephens, assistant director of custodial services, said they have been working on a new rotating schedule to allow for summer programs and extended school year calendars, but they are on track to get each campus disinfected and cleaned ahead of the first day of school.
“Our schools provide the safest environment for many of our students,” Stephens said. “The ultimate goal is to eliminate any distractions that could impede the learning culture. The appearance of the facilities, cleanliness, temperature, proper disinfection—all those little things—they factor into the comfort of the students and staff to ensure that we are all focused on the primary intent: learning.”
Dallas ISD is appreciative of all the hard work, dedication and pride demonstrated by staff in Maintenance & Facility Services. Thanks to their efforts this summer, students will return to class ready to make memorable moments and pursue academic success.
