Worth Their Weight in $$

The decision a few years ago to hire two maintenance employees has paid off for the East Hampton School District.

During Tuesday night’s school board meeting, Mark Field, head custodian, said those two crew members have enabled the district to scale back dramatically on the sum it would pay contractors for the same work. Mr. Field said the savings amounts to approximately $109,000 in the proposed 2015-16 school budget.

“This is the first year that we’ve been able to put it on paper,” he said. “They have been able to save us incredible amounts of money.” The pair’s skills, he said, span several trades: heating and cooling systems, plumbing, electrical, locksmith work, and more.

Isabel Madison, East Hampton’s assistant superintendent for business, said this has meant the district had to turn to capital improvement funds less frequently.

“Usually, school districts go to a large capital improvement, because the maintenance is very poor,” Ms. Madison said. “We tried for this to not happen. They look after every penny. They are wonderful.” C.S.