Staff members work day in and day out to educate and advise students, cook lunches, and coach athletic teams. One group of staff who do not receive nearly enough recognition for their hard work is the custodial staff.

Linganore has 13 custodial staff members who work on day and evening shifts and are very dedicated to keeping the school in pristine condition. This crew is lead by Mr. Mike Bowles. Most days, the day shift members arrive at 5 A.M., and there is a separate night crew which helps prepare the school for the next day. Their jobs are as important as any staff member in the school.

Junior Andry Cantarero said, “The custodians do a lot for our school including cleaning up the messes of students and fixing what students break, and kids should respect that.”

Bowles says his job entails monitoring fuel levels, fixing any heating and cooling issues, and leading the other custodial employees.

Another staff member, Shanita Lyles says that she “usually makes sure Main Street is clean before school and then waits for a call, as it is inevitable.” Most of her day is spent on call to help with accidents and other cleanups.

Principal Nancy Doll said, “Our custodians work really hard  to keep our school clean and we should all be more helpful and appreciative of the work they do.”

Although most students only see a fraction of the work these employees do, their jobs entail far more than the cleaning between lunch shifts and the spills in hallways. Another very difficult task which these staff members are in charge of is snow removal. They say that students and community members often don’t realize the difficulty of this task, or even whose responsibility it is. The custodial crew maintains the school campus and keeps the school clean for the athletic teams and extracurricular activities.

Bowles said, “We need to just respect our school and keep it clean, and the students need to help.”

Lyles said, “Students need to have pride for their school, and show it through the way they treat it.”

The staff members stress the importance of keeping our school clean in order to show respect for it and clean up any messes made.