The Toronto District School Board wants to place GPS trackers on all construction vehicles in the wake of reports questioning high costs of labour and repairs at the cash-strapped board.
The proposal, contained in a staff report released Wednesday, would allow the board and school principals to better track the 900 construction and maintenance employees.
The GPS devices would allow the board to tell when a worker punched in and out and when they took their lunch break.
It would also let board members track where vehicles are going, and where they’ve been.
Employees questioned Wednesday said they had no problem with the suggestion.
“I never slack off. I do my job to the best of my ability,” maintenance worker Fitzgerald Hopkinson told CTV Toronto’s Colin D’Mello. “I have nothing to worry about.”
The suggestion comes after the maintenance workers came under fire in June, when a report in the Toronto Star found the TDSB Trade Council, which has an exclusive contract with the board, had over-charged for work.
For example, the report found that it has charged $300 to install a pencil sharpener, $3,000 for one electrical outlet installed in a school library and $19,000 for the installation of a sign on the school’s front lawn.
The report prompted a flurry of criticism as Toronto public schools faced a serious budget crunch. In mid June, trustees cut $58 million in spending in an attempt to balance the books.
The GPS suggestion is another way to keep costs down, said TDSB director of education Chris Spence.
“The GPS is just another way of creating efficiencies and holding people accountable, so when you get a call with a work order, we can see who is closest to that particular site,” said Spence.
The GPS devices are just one of several actions the board report recommended to tighten spending when it comes to school maintenance and repairs.
Other moves include standardizing the working hours for all construction staff, which would prevent overlapping shifts.
The report also suggests eliminating scheduled overtime for facility service staff and rearranging the construction grounds division.
It would also create a red-flag system to allow staff to report any overpriced work.
Even a union spokesperson said the plan seemed like a good one.
“Anytime you can improve the flow of your workers, it’s probably a good idea,” said TDSB Trade Council spokesperson Ross Parry.
A meeting with school trustees was held Wednesday evening to discuss these new initiatives. From there, the report would go to trustees in the fall.
With reports from CTV Toronto’s Colin D’Mello
