Wiscasset High School head custodian Jeff Speed has been on the job 39 years. Thanks to a Wiscasset School Committee decision on May 1, he's headed for year 40.

His fellow Wiscasset custodians still have jobs, also. The committee chose to stick with the union workers rather than farm out services to a cleaning company. The unanimous decision drew the public's applause.

The custodians do much more than clean; they are valued, trusted employees who help keep the schools' staff and students safe, according to several speakers Thursday night.

The custodians' many years of service have given them an institutional memory that benefits the schools, said Wiscasset High School art teacher Shalimar Poulin.

“I'm sure the (company's workers) are good people, too. But they don't know us and our kids,” she said.

“We're pieces of a puzzle called a school,” high school custodian Debbie Gagnon said. “We fit together.” The Wiscasset woman paused briefly when she recounted finding clumps of hair in a bathroom and passing the information along to school staff.

“The parents were grateful,” she said.

“These aren't just somebody's schools and somebody's children. They're our schools and our children,” Gagnon said. She and other Wiscasset school staff members cited efforts the custodians make as part of their schools' teams: They find deals on supplies, make costumes for students, and keep an eye out for people banned from the schools' grounds.

Committee Chairman Glen Craig said the comments from the audience gelled with his own research. Hiring a company could have had unintended consequences, he said after the meeting.

“That's what I didn't like about it,” he said.

It was uncertain how much the town might have saved by outsourcing, Craig said. When Benchmark Cleaning & Supply officials met with the committee on April 9, they estimated a $500,000 savings over five years. But Regional School Unit 12's maintenance and transportation director, John Merry, advised the panel to pay attention to details such as whether the workers would do plumbing and electrical work, as custodians do now.

After Thursday night's vote, Wiscasset Middle School Custodian David Chase shook hands with school committee members.

“Now I can look forward to having a job,” Chase said in an interview. “I'm not usually very emotional, but it's been kind of a roller coaster ride.”

The audience comments showed him that people like the job he and the others are doing, he said.

“It really makes you feel good,” Chase said.

Speed also appreciated the support. Outsourcing would have been a mistake, given the many things the custodians do beyond cleaning, he said.

Had he lost his job, he doubted he would have been able to get another like it; and he might have had to find two jobs, he said.

Thursday's turnout of about 40 people was one of the highest since voters empaneled the committee in January. The outsourcing issue garnered the most public comment.

“I wish it could be like this every night,” Craig said about the attendance. “It'd be awesome.”