Schools
The Ubiquitous They - Roy Owens
Roy Owens is the Maintenance, Operations and Facilities Supervisor for the Benicia Unified School District.
Who are you and what do you do in the community? My name is Roy Owens, and since July 1, 2011, I am the Maintenance, Operations and Facilities Supervisor for the Benicia Unified School District (BUSD). I came to Benicia to work at this job. I spent 25 years in Maintenance and Operations for Vacaville Unified School District. What I like about the (Benicia) School District is the staff and their acceptance for new people. It was amazing, the open arms reception that I got. I felt right at home from the very beginning.
What is it specifically that you do for the School District? My job is to supervise the entire maintenance department, following the Education Code descriptions of routine maintenance, which is maintaining all of the components of classrooms and facilities: the walls, the air conditioning, the lighting, the flooring, the concrete, the asphalt parking lots, the trees, and the grass. I supervise the grounds department, all of the custodians and their cleaning procedures their processes, schedules and stuff like that. It supports the (educational) process by providing a clean safe and functional facilities where teachers are able to do what they do best, and that is educate our students.
What’s the most common maintenance problem you face? That’s a tough question because there’s so much of it. I guess the most demanding one is heating, ventilating and air conditioning. That is the one (maintenance issue) that directly impacts a classroom environment immediately. If a classroom is too hot or a classroom is too cold, it really impacts the educational environment.
What would like to accomplish in your capacity as the Maintenance Supervisor of the BUSD? High Efficiency. My goal is to achieve high efficiency, and that comes with proper training, proper processes and procedures, training on trade skills, communication with the sites, and building relationships with the sites. And all that is for one purpose: our ability to serve our staff and students. With the limited resources we have that creates a need to be as efficient as possible.
