Southeast Missouri State University officials might hire a private cleaning service to manage the institution's janitorial operations in an effort to increase efficiency and save money.

The Board of Regents earlier this month authorized the university administration to take bids for such management services.

Ken Dobbins, vice president for finance and administration, said the regents took that action at a closed-door meeting June 11 because it involved personnel issues.

But he said Tuesday that any final action on a contract would require action by the regents in open session.

"What we are doing is going out for proposals to manage the custodial services," said Dobbins. "We feel we will be able to give our employees better training and they would be able to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently."

Greater efficiency, he added, could lead to cost savings.

It's envisioned that a private firm would provide "an administrative, professional management team," which would replace five management positions at Southeast, he said.

"We felt this was the most opportune time," said Dobbins. The director of custodial services and grounds retired last fall and an assistant custodial supervisor will retire at the end of the month. The university has been unable to find a suitable applicant to fill an assistant supervisor position, he said.

The university plans to absorb the two remaining members of the custodial management staff into the university's physical plant operations.

"No one is going to lose their job," Dobbins said.

He said he hopes the university can obtain bids from two or three national janitorial firms.

William Moon, the university's physical plant director, said that because a national cleaning firm buys supplies nationwide, it could probably buy supplies at a lesser cost than the university.

"The key that we are looking for is for them to maximize the efficiency of use of the resources that we already have," said Moon.

The university currently spends about $1.6 million a year on custodial operations, with most of that comprising personnel costs for 61 full-time and 74 part-time employees, Moon said. Many of the part-time workers are students.

The annual budget also includes about $115,000 in supplies and $20,000 in equipment. Supplies include everything from 55-gallon drums of floor wax to 20-gallon drums of hand soap.

And, said Moon, there's a lot of floor space about 2 million square feet to clean at Southeast.

Dobbins stressed that the university's custodial workers won't be replaced. "Our current housekeepers and custodians will remain employees of the university."

Dobbins said university officials have talked with representatives of the Teamsters union, which represents custodial workers at Southeast, to explain the situation. The plan, he said, doesn't affect any union positions.

A private cleaning company, he said, would have the expertise to train the university's custodians and could furnish the necessary equipment and supplies.

"In the bidding process, we will have the vendors come in and evaluate what should or shouldn't be done," Dobbins said.

The university currently has its own cleaning equipment. But under the proposed arrangement, the private contractor would be responsible for any new equipment, Dobbins said.

"It will be a more efficient operation," he said. "I think we will be able to give our custodians and housekeepers better training because (a private management team) would have the ability to bring in experts in custodial services so we could learn the newest techniques in cleaning.

"You know there is a real science out there in how to clean," said Dobbins, adding that there is more to cleaning than just using a broom and dustpan.

"There is a very important science out there in cleaning," he said. "This is one way we think we can get that science down to Southeast and be able to train our employees."

Moon said September would probably be the earliest a private management team could be in place at Southeast.

Any contract probably would involve a one-year agreement with a series of annual renewals, Moon said.

Dobbins said, "We would like to start it before school starts, but that may not be feasible."

He said custodial operations at both Central Missouri State and Northwest Missouri State are managed by private contractors.

In Ohio, many of the universities contract out all of their custodial services, with the custodians working for the private companies.

But Dobbins said he prefers the plan at Southeast, where the custodians would continue to be university employees.

"A lot of times you find in those kinds of contracts (where custodians work for private companies), the pride in the institution isn't there."

Dobbins said that contrasts with the situation at Southeast. "Our employees do take a lot of pride in cleaning our buildings," he said.