UW-Superior Plans To Outsource Custodial Jobs To Tennessee-Based Company

University of Wisconsin-Superior’s chancellor announced on Wednesday morning that the school will soon enter negotiations with a Tennessee-based private company for taking over the school’s custodial and grounds services — a move that the school says could save them $500,000 annually.

UW-Superior Chancellor Renee Wachter sent an email to the campus community about the decision that could result in the school becoming the first public four-year campus to outsource its custodial jobs.

“I believe it is in the best interest of the University to move in this direction to ensure the fiscal health of the University and to preserve its core mission — education for students,” Wachter wrote.

The university is entering negotiations with Service Solutions Co., a Tennessee-based company. Wachter said a contract could save the university around $500,000 annually in salaries, fringe benefits and supplies.

The school needs to show savings or growth of $2 million by the end of June 2016 to operate independently of any bail-outs from the UW System. UW-Superior officials say they would be operating with a deficit without the budget reprieve.

The university typically ends the year with a tuition balance of $1 to $1.5 million, but that figure dropped to $500,000 due to enrollment challenges, tuition freezes and state funding cuts.

Chancellor Renee Wachter says a move to outsource jobs is part of a larger effort to spur savings and growth.

“This is one part of a much larger, much more comprehensive project we’ve been taking since last year, where we’re looking at all programs on campus — academic and nonacademic— to see where there might be cost efficiencies,” said Wachter.

The chancellor said the school is also looking at consolidating departments and eliminating or restructuring programs to save money. However, Wachter said the university won’t be able to cut their way out of this problem. She said they need to grow enrollment. UW-Superior has set a goal to draw 618 freshmen students for 2015, which is 100 more freshmen than this year.

Georgette Koenig, the vice chancellor of administration and finance at UW-Superior, said there will be more reductions.

“If we need to get $4.5 million over the next couple years, we’re going to have to look at other avenues and other potential reductions. When 90 percent of the budget is tied up in salaries or fringe, to get to a number of that magnitude, it’s typically going to take personnel,” said Koenig.

State Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, says the university needs more help from the state.

“The quicker they act to identify those programs, the easier it is to use those efficiency reductions as an argument to the Legislature and Gov. Walker’s administration that it’s important to put financial resources into the University of Wisconsin System,” said Jauch.

Sen. Jauch and two other northern Wisconsin lawmakers — Reps. Nick Milroy and Janet Bewley — expressed concerns that staff cuts were being made before UW-Superior finishes a review of its programs.

Stated the lawmakers in a release: “There is nothing fair or right about eliminating these hard-working employees who made decent but hardly excessive wages and replace them with employees who will receive low wages and few benefits paid for by an out-of-state corporation which will profit from the downsizing of our workforce.”

Lead custodian Ron Learn, who has been working at UW-Superior for 16 years, said his crew received an early-morning email to meet with Wachter. Learn said staff felt devastated and angry when told the university received a bid from a Service Solutions Co. for custodial services.

“They’re talking about the beginning of January now. That’s about when their last days will be. Merry Christmas,” he said.

Learn said employees haven’t received notice yet. He said about six or seven employees have already left for jobs elsewhere, and that he’s looking for a new job himself.

Wachter said that she made the announcement now to give custodial and grounds crew time to plan for the transition. She said that she’s grateful to the custodial and grounds crew for their work, and added that Service Solutions could end up hiring them.

“We anticipate that at least everyone will have the opportunity to get in front of them to talk about what the possibilities might be,” she said.

UW-Superior sent at-risk letters to 27 of its custodial and grounds staff earlier this year, saying their jobs might be outsourced. Wachter said faculty and staff will know by Dec. 19 of any changes.