Contracted work is part of the preparation at different campuses around the district. Kala Heldoorn (left) and Justin Haskins of Austin’s K. L. Specialties, assemble a mountain of tables in the Pfluger Elementary cafeteria. (Photos by Jim Cullen)

New portable classrooms are being made ready at Negley Elementary and Hays CISD’s Robert Walker is among those installing gutters on those newly-placed buildings.

by JIM CULLEN

It’s easy to think that once the final bell rings for the summer and classes let out, the school district grinds to a full stop until fall.

But in reality, there’s an extremely busy world that hums – even picks up speed – as soon as the last student steps off the bus on the last day of school. Locally, many at Hays CISD go into overdrive as soon as the students and staff have cleared the buildings and grounds. There are ongoing contracts to be finished in time for fall, portable buildings have to be moved from campus to campus for changing needs, floors have to be stripped and waxed and truck-loads of everything it takes to run a school have to be positioned.

On a recent mid-July weekday, a brief scan – a very brief scan – of a few district campuses brought home the realization o

f the work being done over the summer by hundreds of workers intent on having everything ready for that first day of school. A guide around the district’s now-22 campuses has become a necessity, but the obvious man for the job, the district’s executive director of maintenance and operations, R.C. Herrin (sometimes called “Mr. All Over It”) is out of town and defers to Michael Baker, his multi-skilled director of maintenance.

Baker, who came to the district after retiring from years of work with the city of Austin, is an easy man to talk with, but having a tourist with a camera to lead around is more than a busy man like him should have to deal with in a summer like this. Still, the pride he takes in

talking about the things his workers are accomplishing is clear.

“The ‘M’ in that ‘M & O’ doesn’t stand for maintenance, it stands for magic,” he says with a smile, though he’s obviously serious. He reels off the list of tradesmen he has in his charge – they include plumbers, electricians, HVAC and utility specialists and groundskeepers, painters and carpenters – and he describes how they make things “magically happen” over any given summer.

“We’re a large district,” Baker says, adding, “We’ve got workers who are skilled in their trades, workers who are as good as any craftsman anywhere. We’ve got this multi-million dollar facility and a bazillion things to do all the time. Our guys step up to the plate and try to make everything happen.”

The other directors reporting to Herrin include Carl Peltier for custodial operations and Bob Hearn in transportaion.  Each has his plate full of unique concerns, each of which is in full motion through the summer.

Baker’s quick orientation to his piece of the puzzle, which touches on many of the others, including ongoing contract work, leads to many stops around the district.