While most everyone else is sleeping, Custodial Coordinator Kevin Kelson and his team are already hard at work. They are monitoring weather reports and clearing parking lots and walkways long before students and staff arrive for the day.

“We are up at 4 a.m.,” Kelson says, “dispatching out, checking schools. The grounds crews are in their trucks by 4 a.m. with plows and salters.”

The District’s contractors plow school parking lots overnight, then in the early hours of the morning grounds crews check and salt parking lots and clear the pathways into schools. “We focus on the drop off areas,” says Kelson, “these guys are busy. We do our best to ensure everyone can show up, be safe, and get into our buildings.”

Kelson says the District grounds team is dedicated to ensuring the safety of students and staff across the district. “They take pride in what they do,” he says, “and are showing up on weekends and holidays to try to keep ahead of the snow. Of course, there is only so much you can do and only so fast you can work, but they really do care.”

Some storms don’t arrive until the early morning and can last all day, keeping crews on their toes. To put things into perspective – with two inches of snowfall, the District will use 80-100 tons of salt. That daunting task is completed with 13 pickup trucks with salt spreaders covering over 220 acres of pavement.

After the evening storm on Jan. 10, 2024, Kelson was out early, plowing school parking lots and getting ready for the next round of snow. “We’re lucky to work for a District that understands every aspect of the work our crews do,” Kelson says, “from principals to our administration and the superintendent, everyone really shows appreciation to us, and everyone feels that.”