For some Peters Township School District employees, summer is the busiest time
PTMS Principal Adam Sikorski provides a tour of the school to a family moving into the township this summer, who will have two sons at the Middle School.
Custodian Ross Lugar works on buffing the concrete floor in the PTMS locker room. He and fellow custodians stripped several layers of old paint off the floors this summer.
Technician Rick Pavacic works on setting up one of the new SHARP Aquos Smart Boards that will be in use at McMurray Elementary when school starts on Aug. 31.
Technology Director Adam Swinchock works on updating one of the Chrome Book carts at McMurray Elementary.
Louise Woods-Rzepka, coordinator of human resources for the Peters Township School District, doesn’t have a lot of down time during the summer.
If anything, the three months of the summer are especially busy for Woods-Rzepka, who is tasked with finding the right individual for every district job opening. And that process is not as simple as it sounds.
For every elementary teacher position the district has, for example, Woods-Rzepka will receive anywhere from 800 to 900 resumes. For a more specialized position, like a middle school teacher, she could receive 250 to 300 resumes.
Then there is the process of whittling down the candidates and three rounds of interviews before someone is eventually selected. This summer has been no different. Woods-Rzepka has done more than 350 interviews for 38 openings and she still has more scheduled.
“I don’t take vacations in the summer,” she said. “It’s totally impossible.”
For those who think the life of a school district human resources coordinator, school principal, director of instructional technology or supervisor of buildings and grounds, have it easy during the summer break, think again. Their work hours are the same, or sometimes longer, than they are during the school year.
“I don’t take any time off until September,” Woods-Rzepka said. “I take four days then so I can breathe.”
Having no students for three months really doesn’t make a difference in the work load for a district employee. For example, the district passed its budget at the end of June and could not order supplies for the new school year until July.
“On July 1, the UPS trucks start arriving,” said Shelly Belcher, district spokesperson. “There’s a tremendous amount of things that take place during the summer.”
Blair Stoehr, principal of McMurray Elementary School, knows that all too well. His school is in the midst of a year-long, $5.6 million renovation which will likely not be completed until the end of this upcoming school year.
Stoehr, now in his eighth year at McMurray Elementary, will be back in his regular office when school begins, but will have to move students and personnel around the building when school is back in session.
“Personnel are our number one priority,” said Stoehr, who, because of the renovation taking place, has spent his summer working in makeshift office space in Peters Township Middle School and in personnel meetings with Woods-Rzepka.
“I really enjoy the summers,” said Stoehr. “Some of the most important work we do is during the summer. When we hire someone, we’re making a 35-year commitment to them.”
For Adam Swinchock, who is in charge of the district’s technology, summer vacation is akin to running a race.
“It’s definitely a sprint,” said Swinchock, who has been the district’s technology chief for two years. “Summer time is for the things that can’t happen during the year. We are constantly upgrading our systems.”
Indeed. The number of machines he takes care of is daunting, too. The district has 3,000 computers, and anywhere from 700 to 800 computers are assigned to employees. A lot of what Swinchock and his staff do during the summer break is preemptive maintenance to avoid equipment breakdowns during the school year.
“It really is a race against the clock,” he said.
“The goal is to see a reduction in work tickets during the school year,” Belcher added.
Summer break is the opportunity Brandon Womer, the district’s supervisor of buildings and grounds, to have the district’s five schools, its administration building and maintenance facility thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom. Translated, this means 350 classrooms and educational spaces in the district buildings are completely emptied, cleaned and put back in place.
“I also talk to the principals and look at their wish list,” said Womer, who typically has 50-hour work weeks during the summer. “I have to prioritize projects because we can’t do everything at once.”
Then there is the outside work. The rainy June caused outside maintenance to be delayed.
“We had an unusually long stretch of rain,” said Womer, who is in his first year of employment with the district. “We got behind on playground mulching. I had mountains of playground mulch for a while there. It is never a dull moment.”
Belcher agreed.
“Summer is about potential,” she said. “And the kids will have what they need when they sit down at their desks on Aug. 31.”