CVHS custodians give tips to keep school clean

A day in the life of a custodian is tough, but they have tips for us students to keep the school clean.  The custodians of CVHS are asking the students to stop eating in class and in the hallways.

“Kids these days are under the impression that they have to eat all the time,” says custodian Jay Espitallier. “When I was in school, you could never eat in class.  Eating takes away from the academic purpose of class and gives us extra work to do.”

Most of the cleaning of the school involves cleaning food from the halls and rooms of CVHS.

“If students stopped eating in class, we could cut our trash output by half and cut our supplies by a third,” says Espitallier.

With constant budget cuts, custodians have felt the pressure, and need to reduce supplies.

The life of the custodians start before zero period, when they clean out the hallways before the students arrive. The next two busiest times are during break and at lunch, when the most trash collects in the school. Then, after the students go home, they are out again to prepare the school for the next day or the weekend.

Even when there are after-school activities such as a game or a dance, they have to work hard to prepare the event and then to clean up after. No matter what you do, the custodians have to follow.

Although many students at CVHS are unaware, students are not supposed to eat in the hallways unless it is a rainy day.

“It adds extra work for us,” says Espitallier. “We have a lot to do, more important things than pick up trash.”

A common mistake is made between a janitor and a custodian. A janitor cleans what is needed; a custodian cleans, constantly repairs and fixes what keeps the school running.

“So when people tell us it’s our job to clean up their trash, they are unaware of what we actually do for this school,” Espitallier explained.

The custodians work eight hours a day and five days a week or longer to keep our school working.

“We would think that students would have more respect for the school; it’s their school, and we are not your mom and dad,” Espitallier said.