Buildings and Grounds

  • Ms. Carmen Southward
    Director of Operations
    Email:  csouthward@paps.net
    Phone: (732) 376-6200 ext. 30-282
     
    Mr. Luis Carrillo - Operations Manager
    Email:  luiscarrillo@paps.net
    Phone: (732) 376-6200 ext. 30-228   
     
    Mr. Melvin Cruz - Head of Maintenance
    Phone: (732) 376-6200 ext. 30-281
     
    Ms. Kelly Madonia - Administrative Assistant
    Phone: (732) 376-6200 ext. 30-282
     
     
     
     

    Who We Are
    The Building and Grounds Department is a dynamic part of the Perth Amboy education system, charged with ensuring the safety and health of students, faculty, employees and guests, as well as maintaining a pristine and visually attractive environment. Our department has more than 100 professionals and leaders in their vocations, who work seamlessly to accomplish these goals.

    The Building and Grounds Department is responsible for compliance with all State and Federal regulations pertaining to public schools, and the maintenance of a healthy school environment. This includes all required annual inspections of district buildings and systems, as well as purchasing of maintenance and custodial equipment, supplies and contractual services for the district.

    Our Staff
    Our custodial staff is much more than simply a cleaning crew. Our custodians are selected for their high standards of creating sanitary spaces. Our maintenance staff are experts in their trades who perform preventive maintenance to ensure maximum life expectancy of our equipment, as well as quickly and efficiently resolve technical issues that may arise.

    Our Mission Statement
    The Buildings and Grounds Department works to achieve three goals:

    1. Provide safe, clean and healthy indoor and outdoor environments to support educational activities
    2. Ensure the structural integrity and efficiency of our facilities,
    3. Protect the investment of Perth Amboy citizens 

    We operate on the belief that facility safety is optimized by being proactive to develop and implement proven protocols to ensure healthy environments that are hallmarked by reduced risk of accidents or illness inside and outside of all buildings and grounds. Examples include but are not limited to: our Green Cleaning program, which minimizes exposure to synthetic ingredients that may cause allergies; utilization of a double-bucket cleaning system that eliminates cross-contamination of shoe-carried bacteria; advanced indoor air quality technology, Integrated Pest Management that eliminates harmful chemicals to eliminate rodents and insects, and an innovative electrostatic disinfecting procedure to reduce bacterial risk.  Daily, weekly and monthly cleanings and inspections ensure that potential breakdowns and related issues are significantly reduced.

    The level of service that The Buildings and Grounds Department offers would not be possible without the support we receive from the public, the staff, the administration, and the Board of Education.