Board approves five-year custodial contract

NEW LONDON – The New London Board of Education approved a five-year contract with SSC for custodial services with the New London School District.
The board approved the contract at its May 26 meeting.
Joe Marquardt, SDNL business services director, told the board that the district uses a custodial service for its facilities, and last year the board approved a one-year extension with SSC. He said over the past year the district has evaluated its custodial services.
A five-year contract with SSC was presented by Marquardt to the board for approval. In that contract, there would be no increase in custodial service rates for the 2026-27 school year, the first year of the contract. The second year of the contract would include a consumer price index (CPI) increase that would be capped at 3%. A rate increase for the third, fourth, and fifth years of the contract would be negotiated.
Marquardt said the contract included language stipulating that the New London School District would provide all the required equipment. This would represent a $75,000 investment by the school district.

The five-year contract could be cancelled at any time with proper notice, Marquardt said.
“We feel like this is a great set-up for the school district for our evening cleaning,” Marquardt said. “They clean all of our buildings at night. They clean most of our buildings during the summer, except for the athletic wing in the middle school, our district office, and then a couple ancillary buildings. And they also purchase the supplies.”
During the discussion, board Vice President Katie Batten asked what amount of time represents a “proper notice” for the contract to be cancelled.
Marquardt said it could be as few as 60 days.