MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — When keeping schools safe during the COVID-19 pandemic there is a long list of things custodians have to keep their eye on. We’re talking about things beyond adding plexiglass dividers and social distancing markers. 

Patrick Bradbury is the director of facilities for Milford Public Schools. He tells News 8, “This is their home away from home. We have to be better and we have to do better and we have to make sure everyone feels better about sending their children to us.” 

He says now more than ever he and his team are feeling the pressure. They oversee 14 schools in the district which amounts to about 1.1 million square feet of buildings. 

They keep the schools safe and sanitized during the week and even on Saturdays, “We also come in on Saturday and we do some cleaning on Saturday. Anything we missed maybe a vacancy on Friday evening we want to make sure we’re 100 percent for Monday morning.” 

Over the past few months, they have made changes and enhancements to the schools’ air ventilation systems and increased sanitizing procedures. The attention to detail goes beyond that, “Our guys along with contractors had to load about 50 trailers of extra material of furniture to make sure we had enough room in the classroom to be socially distanced while we teach our kids.” 

Custodians across the state helping keep everyone making their way to the classroom socially distanced and safe, the unsung heroes of the hallways. 

Bradbury says, “We should not be seen, they shouldn’t even know we’re here. So our goal is to make sure everything’s up and running and we do not get in the way of the learning process.”