11 27 2012

Page 1

VOLUME 102, ISSUE 38

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NOVEMBER 27, 2012

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Adopt a Family The Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center sponsors a donation program to provide gifts for children in abused homes. To learn more about the program visit UniversityStar.com.

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of a 3-part serie s Part 1

Custodial positions UTSA rivalry match ends in Bobcat defeat to be outsourced across campus By Megan Carthel News Reporter Texas State-employed custodians will eventually be a thing of the past, as the outsourcing of these positions sweeps across campus. The university started the process of outsourcing its custodial services last summer. Texas State entered a contract, effective June 1, with McLemore Building Maintenance, Inc. McLemore employees will fill the vacancies as university custodians retire or quit over time, said Bill Nance, vice president for Finance and Support Services. Nance said custodial services are already outsourced at the LBJ Student Center, Student Health Center and Student Recreation Center. The idea behind outsourcing Texas State’s custodial services began as an effort to consolidate the individual contracts held by the three buildings. But that idea spread and Nance said all custodial services positions at Texas State will eventually be outsourced. Nance said the outsourcing process may take anywhere from 10 to 15 years, and estimates by 2030 all custodial positions will be outsourced. There are no plans to terminate Texas State-hired custodians to make room for the McLemore employees, Nance said. Kim Graves, director of Custodial Operations, said though there have never been any plans to terminate employees, any custodian who is worried about job security in a “scary economy” should talk to her. Graves said as of Dec. 1, Custodial Operations will employ 88 custodians. She said there is a traditionally high turnover rate in the custodial industry. However, Graves said Custodial Services probably has more longevity than any department on campus, and its staff members take care of Texas State like it is their home. “There’s a difference between just coming in, cleaning a building and leaving versus taking absolute ownership and people trusting you,” Graves said. “Our staff are caretakers. This university is entrusted to them.” However, some Texas State-employed custodians do not feel secure about their positions with the university. In a Nov. 27 University Star Letter to the Editor, Custodian Scott Plough said many of his co-workers are afraid to say anything about their current employment situations. He said the department of Custodial Operations is “constantly” losing good employees because of a low pay and slim chances of being promoted. Nance said the discussion to fully outsource custodial operations has been ongoing for many years. “Everybody in higher education across the country knows it’s less expensive to outsource,” Nance said. “About half of the universities in Texas have their custodial services outsourced.” Texas State’s 2013 budget apportions $164,349 to custodial contracts with McLemore. For the same year, the university has set aside approximately $3.18 million for Texas State custodial operations, including supplies, salaries and benefits. Though the university will save money through its outsourcing of custodial services, custodians working at Texas State in the future under McLemore will receive fewer benefits. Nance said because McLemore is a private company, it does not have a benefits package as extensive as those offered by state entities. As state employees, Texas State custodians receive health insurance, a retirement program, 1.5 percent salary increases every two years and time off to enroll in classes. Nance said workers’ compensation insurance is the biggest difference in the benefits packages offered by Texas State and McLemore. Nance estimates nearly half of the workers’ compensation claims on campus are made by custodians, costing the university approximately $350,000 per year.

Carlos Valdez, Assistant Photo Editor

Shaun Rutherford, senior quarterback, is stopped by UTSA’s defense Nov. 24 at the Alamodome. The Bobcats were defeated with a final score of 38-31.

READ the full story, PAGE 7

Natural spring to be protected by fence By Adrian Omar Ramirez News Reporter Hays County Commissioners voted to choose a company to build a fence for the Jacob’s Well Natural Area during their Nov. 20 meeting. Commissioners unanimously approved a bid from San Antonio-based Pecos Fence, Inc. to build boundary fencing for the Jacob’s Well Natural Area near Wimberley. The boundary fence will include two pedestrian gates and two vehicle gates. It will contain 540 feet of cedar fencing to keep coyotes out of the area, as well as 640 feet of wire fence to keep out other types of game. The game fence within 200 feet of

Cypress Creek will be segmented in order to break away in cases of flooding. The commissioners agreed to award the requested $27,056 to the company, which, among five firms, was the estimated lowest cost for the project. Four other firms from Canyon Lake, Austin and Wimberley submitted bids to build the fence, with estimates ranging from $37,087 to $151,924. Commissioner Will Conley, Precinct 3, said the court made a valid effort to get the bid out to as many Hays County contractors as possible, but the decision was ultimately based on Pecos Fence’s pricing. “(Pecos Fence is) just much lower on their bid to accomplish the job,” Conley

said. “This court has had a big emphasis to do as much work locally as possible, but when you have the type of spread that we have had in these estimates, it’s just not fair to the taxpayers to move in that direction.” Commissioners opened bidding for the project on Sept. 11 and closed the bidding period 16 days later. The item also authorized the county judge to issue the contract documents for the project. However, Judge Bert Cobb remained absent on medical leave. Jacob’s Well Natural Area is a natural spring that flows from one of the largest underwater caves in Texas. The spring opens in the bed of Cypress Creek, just north of Wimberley.

Student uses internship to help the needy By Natalie Berko News Reporter Sara Kiolbassa, applied sociology senior, created a food and donation drive competition at her internship with the marketing department at

Nexus Medical Consulting Company. Kiolbassa must hold an internship position as well as create a special project within that company to satisfy her degree requirements. Lois Hickman, internship coordinator for the Applied Sociology pro-

gram, said the goal of the required internship and special project is to help students apply sociology to an average internship, and come away with a better understanding of professionalism. “We would like (students) to walk away knowing that they are leaving with some skills they can carry on to other careers,” Hickman said. Hickman said Kiolbassa’s project is a good example of how sociology examines groups in society. “Her particular project, making something competitive that would help people who need food, is perfect for us, as well as building the team,” Hickman said. Kiolbassa said she collected 989 pounds of food by the end of the competition, falling 11 pounds short of her 1,000 pound goal. This is because many teams collected pastas and rice that do not weigh much but still manage feed a lot of people, Kiolbassa said. Each donation gathered from her competition was given to the Hays County Food Bank, and was scored based on a system Kiolbassa created. Teams were awarded points based on the types of items received, Kiolbassa said.

Shea Wendlandt, Staff Photographer

READ custodians, PAGE 3

Sara Kiolbassa, applied sociology senior, worked with Nexus Medical Consulting to create a competitive food and donation drive to raise 989 pounds of food in preparation for the holiday season.

READ needy, PAGE 3


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11 27 2012 by The University Star - Issuu