Muscle and Cooperation Mark Move of School Equipment

At the beginning of the summer, students were the ones missing from Holbrook Elementary School. Now, desks, books and classroom materials are following them out the door, headed for other schools. 

Holbrook, on 3333 Ronald Way, off East Olivera Road, closed on June 9. The teachers and students at Holbrook will transition to Wren Avenue and Sun Terrace elementary schools.

Jeff McDaniel, maintenance and operations manager for the Mount Diablo Unified School District, said the move of the equipment puts a strain on the custodial staff, which is trying to make the move seamless.

“Most of these schools have vacant classrooms,” said McDaniel. “So I am filling up classrooms and filling up schools with furniture for each teacher.”

For Tally Kinney, head custodian at Wren Avenue school, it means setting up for seven new teachers and about 140 students.

“We have been working together to get (the new staff) here, along with the school district and the maintenance guys,” said Kinney, who has worked 27 years for the Mount Diablo Unified School District. "We are moving all the furniture and doing rooms first so they have more time to get in and get their rooms set up so they feel more comfortable."

“But we are making it as easy as we can for them. It is going to be an adjustment on all of us but we are welcoming them and we are welcoming their kids that are coming here.”

Clay Ward, head custodian at Sun Terrace school, has the task of preparing rooms for the beginning of summer school in August and setting up rooms for the teachers from Holbrook. He has to maintain “sinks, lights, ceiling tile, low level maintenance, plumbing, tables and floors.”

Even though another custodian is helping him this summer, Ward said that he won't be able to use his vacation time.

There's a camaraderie among custodians.

“Seeing my co-workers getting laid off and demoted has been rough. I have never seen it this bad in the district since I have been (here)," said Kinney. "But we have to work with it and we are all kind of in the same boat,” he said. “It could have been us.”