School Facilities & Operations

In this episode host Burke Jones, FMP is joined by Jake Schmidtlein, MBA.  Across the country school districts are struggling with hiring and retaining employees.  Jake drops some huge knowledge on core values, job postings, and growing our own staff.  

Tune in to the School Facilities and Operations interview to hear:

- How to connect your core values to the day-to-day work of your staff

- How to get the word to attract applicants

- Turn your staff into advocates that help recruit for you

In this episode host Burke Jones, FMP is joined by Salum Stutzer the Director of Facilities and Purchasing at the Independence Public School District  Salum drops some huge knowledge with us about unconventional project sourcing and delivery methods that saved his district of $1,000,000 on one project.  We also talk about alternative fuels for bus fleets.  

Tune in to the School Facilities and Operations interview to hear:  

- How to purchase HVAC equipment direct from manufacturers  

- Solicit qualified labor bids from contractors  

- How to look at alternative fuels for vehicle fleets.

In this episode host Burke Jones, FMP is joined by Steve Mankins, Senior Account Executive with Building Controls and Services.  Steve is an industry expert in building controls.    We dive deep into current technologies and what the future looks like with building controls.   

Tune in to the School Facilities and Operations interview to hear:   

- How building controls are much more than a thermostat   

- What the future looks like for systems automation   

- Best practices in building controls for multi-facility owners 

In this episode host Burke Jones, FMP is joined by Dane Estok to talk about roofing maintenance and replacement projects for schools.  

Roofing is a big issue for school facility professionals, and we take a deep dive into all things school roofing in this episode.  Dane shares with us what should be included in the annual roof maintenance program and best practices for full roof replacement projects.

Tune into the School Facilities and Operations Interview to hear:

- What steps you should take annually for roof maintenance

- How to find a trusted roofing partner

- How to spec and bid a new roof replacement project

Richard Bell, the Executive Director of Operations for USD 385 Andover Public Schools joins the show today to share leadership strategies and disaster recovery lessons learned.

Two short months before Richard joined his current district, one of the elementary schools was severely damaged by a glancing blow of a tornado.  He was boots on the ground the next day and worked tirelessly with the team to get the restoration and reconstruction of the school completed and ready for occupancy before the next school year.

Tune in to the School Facilities and Operations interview to hear:

- How to prepare for a disaster so you have the needed information at hand

- Lessons learned on how a quick response and trusted teams can lead to success

- How to let your staff understand your expectations when it comes to quality

For this first episode I just wanted to share the two different types of episodes I will be producing, why I started this podcast, and a little about my background and current position.  This podcast is entirely dedicated to school facility and operations professionals.  I will be bringing interviews with other facility experts and education from the vendor community.