WOODBURY — At the start of the new year, Brian Boccio, head custodian of Nonnewaug High School, returned after being out for six weeks on medical leave for his hip surgery.
“I feel like a whole new person; I feel incredible,” Boccio says. “I’m moving better than ever. I just got back after six weeks, and I really missed this place.”
Boccio, however, was not the only one out at the beginning of the year. Night custodian Brandon Parrino was absent at the same time before returning around the same time. But during their absences, the show must go on.
“We did have to make some changes to ensure that the school can continue to function,” says Dr. Mykal Kuslis, the principal of Nonnewaug. “There are unfortunately only a limited number of custodians and there’s three other schools in the district and sometimes they need him as well, so sometimes we just didn’t have people for those nights.”
Boccio has plenty of responsibilities as the head custodian. Throughout the day, Boccio works on tasks that arise throughout the day.
“Kevin [Rodgers] and I get here first thing,” says Boccio. “Then Clayton [Hilpertshauser] shows up, and then the night guys come in. They’re the ones that make the magic happen; they’re the ones that come in when nobody’s around and clean all the classrooms, empty all the trash, and clean the bathrooms.”
The biggest thing about the custodians in this school is that they are very close to one another, and even some of the students.
“We all work for each other, and we all help each other,” says Boccio. “We are all pulling the same card. If one of us has an issue, the rest of the guys just step up, and I’m very fortunate that we have substitutes that come in. I did not feel guilty whatsoever about having to go out because I knew that the school would be in good hands.”
While Boccio and Parrino were out, the substitutes had to come in to keep the show going.
“We actually had some subs that came in to help us out,” says Hilpertshauser. “But it’s definitely stressful because a lot of stuff goes on and the subs don’t know everything and the everyday handling, but as a team we pull together and make it happen.”
“They do a great job making sure that not only the school is clean but that everything works, everything is up and running,” says Kuslis. “The campus is over 100 acres, so that is a huge campus when you consider the size of the actual schools and just all the stuff that they have to manage outside and inside.”
Even though the subs are good at what they do, when Boccio and Parrino were out, it still put a lot of stress on the other custodians.
“Mr. Boccio is the head of our maintenance staff here at the high school,” says Kuslis. “We had to put a new person in that role. That person had some experience and was able to kind of step into that role pretty seamlessly. Sometimes you can find somebody and sometimes you can’t. But even so, bringing in a substitute custodian, that person might not have the experience or the background. It’s tough to always replace a person who does it every single night.”
Though Boccio and Parrino were out for that period of time, that did not affect the relationship among the group of custodians.
¨I would walk into a burning building for any one of these guys and I believe that they would do the same thing for me,” says Boccio. “That’s how we operate here, we’re a pretty close, tight-knit family. We all get along and we all work together and it just makes the environment so much better.”
It’s not just a job to them, it’s more of a family. Boccio is excited to be back with his colleagues — and a brand-new hip.
“I don’t have the bone-on-bone pain anymore,” says Boccio. “I have a titanium hip now, it’s going to take time to get back and get my strength back, but now I feel 100% better. It was time, and I knew it was time long before.”
Custodians don’t have it easy with all the stuff they have to do and sometimes the weather they have to work in and with.
“The custodians are very hard working, very friendly and they always talk to you in a respectful manner. They work very hard to keep our building clean.” Says junior James Gwiazdoski
The custodians do an amazing job of keeping the school clean and in general keeping Nonnewaug a nice stabilized school. The next time you make a mess, think twice about who has to clean up after you.
