“It’s been going smoothly, but we do really miss the kids,” said Tim Armerding, Head Custodian at Weaverville’s North Windy Ridge Intermediate.
Armerding’s three-person team leads the charge in caring for their campus and is part of 225 custodians serving schools across Buncombe County. They continually sanitize surfaces, mop and vacuum floors, clean restrooms, conduct repairs, and maintain the beautiful outdoor landscape. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve also been able to support their school’s nutrition staff in
serving about 800 students daily.
“We’re feeding kindergarteners through twelfth-graders and it’s quite the undertaking,” said Armerding.
“All of our custodians can either drive a bus or have been willing to go to meal sites and help that way, too,” added principal Brent Wise. “They do what needs to be done and we couldn’t operate without them. They are that important.”
Without teachers and students in their school, Armerding’s team is getting a head start on their scheduled summer cleaning and disinfecting efforts. They like to joke that the students need to return and make more messes for them to clean up.
“We’re looking forward to that,” said custodian Leonard Woodring. “It’s gonna be nice and clean when they come back.”
“I am ready for the kids to come back,” said custodian Tammy Sutton. “I miss them.”