DeWitt Era-Enterprise (AR) (June 3, 2009)

By Christina Verderosa
Published: Wednesday, June 3, 2009

A typical day for DeWitt School District maintenance director Jeff Rader can involve anything from working on the district's facilities master plan to buying mops and toilet paper.

Since the Lakeview school adequacy case was settled, the State of Arkansas has taken a considerable interest in maintenance and facilities, requiring all districts to spend at least nine percent of its budget on maintenance.

"Maintenance people are being held accountable," Rader said. "Every penny is being tracked."

One of the primary ways the state keeps an eye on the maintenance process is through the facilities master plan. This plan includes everything from proposals for new construction to when to repair roofs or replace heating and air conditioning systems.

The current plan includes a new middle school and additional class rooms at the elementary school. These would be financed through a district and state partnership. Rader said the district might have to make a decision soon on these projects.

"We'll have until 2011 to have the project construction agreement signed," he said.

Another big question is what to do about the school's administrative offices in the old Westside Elementary School. "It's designated to be demolished in 2010," Rader said, "but that doesn't necessarily mean it has to be."

But much of what Rader does is keeping up with the myriads of routine jobs that must be done every day to keep the school buildings in good condition. One thing that has made that job easier is a computer program called "SchoolDude."

"SchoolDude has saved a lot of time," Rader said. "We can take care of some problems quicker and make sure they get done quicker."

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