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Daytime custodians will stay in New West schools until June 2022

Six part-time positions added to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic will remain in place through the 2021/22 school year
Julie MacLellan
Julie MacLellan
Custodian Back to School
A custodian is seen here prepping Fraser River Middle School for the return to class in September 2020. The New West school district has now extended six part-time daytime custodian positions until the end of June 2022.Cornelia Naylor

The New Westminster school district will continue with daytime custodians until the end of the 2021/22 school year.

School trustees voted unanimously in favour of the move at a special board meeting held Oct. 1 to discuss a number of COVID-19-related issues.

Secretary-treasurer Bettina Ketcham noted that, in the spring of 2021, the district had set aside $90,000 to keep six part-time custodians in schools during the daytime to deal with “high-touch points” through the pandemic.

Given the current pandemic situation, she said, staff are now recommending those positions be extended until the end of the school year, with $170,000 set aside to allow that work to continue.

The idea found unanimous support among trustees.

“I’m really glad that this is the direction that is being proposed for us to consider,” trustee Anita Ansari said. “I think we have found through the course of this pandemic that better hygiene practices, and better custodial intervention and work, and day custodian availability has really helped us stay in the position that we’re in with managing the pandemic on our sites.”

The six part-time positions will remain in place until June 30, 2022.

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