A look inside Lincoln Public Schools cleaning measures

Custodial staff say they're prepared to welcome students back, and demonstrate how to keep classrooms clean.

Custodial staff for Lincoln Public Schools says they are fully prepared in terms of products and staffing to keep classrooms clean as students head back to school.

“Ahead of opening day, we ordered twice as many paper towels as the district used last year, twice as much of the quaternary product as last year and then twice as much bleach as we ordered last year,” says John Salisbury with LPS custodial staff.

A pairing of three products will be used throughout the school day to disinfect high–touch surfaces.

Teachers will be expected to clean classrooms, while custodial staff will be cleaning everywhere else.

“People are going to see more custodial staff during the day moving around, wiping highly–touched surfaces so door handles,  your light switches, vending machines,” Salisbury says.

Teachers will be given a disinfectant to clean desks between class periods.

“One-third cups bleach per gallon of water, and it is a hospital-grade disinfectant, and teachers can just spray this on and wipe it off between classes,” says custodian Tom Spencer as he demonstrates how teachers will clean student desks.

At the end of each school day, custodial staff will re-clean classrooms with an even stronger solution that requires three to five minutes of waiting time in order to kill germs and viruses.

“This is some of the best of the best stuff that you can get, it’s a commercial-grade cleaner that kills 99.999% of all germs,” Spencer says.

Each classroom will also be provided a hand–sanitizer made at the University of Nebraska.

Custodial staff says they feel prepared for this year and want each student to feel safe and healthy.

“Our staff is in here they have families, kids that go to lincoln public schools so you know we want them to be safe also,” Salisbury adds.