BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Foley High School’s custodial staff will soon take on a different form, as the Baldwin County Board of Education has agreed to allow a private company to provide cleaning services at the facility.

During its regular February meeting Thursday, the board approved an annual contract with the Pensacola, Fla.-based Southern Management to perform custodial services at Foley High at a cost of $170,691.72.

According to documentation provided by the board, the contract, which is paid for out of the board’s general fund, is for one year with the option of extending for two more years. The paperwork also states that the Southern Management was selected from a bid process in which two bids were received.

Despite Thursday’s unanimous vote, the action didn’t pass without opposition. Before the board considered the contract, Alabama Association UniServe Director John Hudson asked the members not to do so.

“There are a number of problems with outsourcing,” he said in an address to the board.

According to Baldwin County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alan Lee, outsourcing custodial services is a cost-saving measure. However, Hudson questioned how the safety of the school would be affected.

“What kind of background checks would the custodial employees be subjected to?” he asked.

Lee said they would be subject to the same security checks that other school-system employees undergo.

But Hudson also questioned how long outsourced employees would remain.

“I’m fearful that this will be a revolving door in Foley High School,” he said, adding that custodians have traditionally been the “eyes and ears” of each school, providing a sense of stability at each school.

Hudson also questioned the quality of work that would be conducted.

“Outsourced employees are poorly paid and poorly trained,” he said.

Prior to the vote, District 2 Board Rep. Bob Wills asked what the advantages were of entering into such a contract.

“Our first order of business is to provide a clean environment for the employees and children at that school,” Lee said, saying the second priority is to do so as inexpensively as possible.

In addition, the superintendent said the two full-time school custodians would be moved to other positions that were available in the school system.

“I’m going to support this on a one-time shot,” Wills said, adding that Southern Management would be expected to do a “whiz-bang job” for a renewal to be considered.

Lee said the company would be evaluated at the end of the year.

“I’ll talk with the principal, staff and students,” he told the board. “I’ll be in that building, as well.”

Lee added that he had his own experience in custodial work and knew how it should be evaluated.

“My first job was as a custodian,” he said.

A final question before the vote passed was who would be consulted when repairs were needed at Foley High. Lee responded that the school system’s repair staff would be retained, when the need arose.