Senior prank day–the era that all upperclassman desire. With every year and every prank, comes prestigious thought and specific planning. This moment is the one time that seniors get to make their final mark on the school which they will soon leave forever. 

 Every person, time, and detail is put into consideration during the planning of senior prank day, all but the fifteen staff members who are the main focus of the prank. Maintenance personnel and custodians continuously have to clean up the end result of these pranks, but are never thought about during the making of it. 

Frank Perez is the head custodian at Central Bucks South. Including Mr. Perez, there are fifteen individuals who make up the Central Bucks South maintenance team. After being self-employed for thirty years, Mr. Perez joined the custodians at Central Bucks and has been with the school for five years. 

Some of the tasks completed daily by Mr. Perez alone are: checking the water numbers, opening and closing the stadium, delivering papers, cleaning and fixing items around the school, working on bathrooms when needed and cleaning up spills. Mr. Perez, along with the rest of the custodians in Central Bucks, works five days a week, all year round, including summer. While Mr. Perez has a normal 6:30 am-3pm schedule, he added that other custodians work six-6:30am-5pm, or sometimes even longer hours depending on the job that needs to be done.  

Each classroom, Mr. Perez said, takes nearly thirty minutes to clean entirely. During the school year, touchups and straightening up the rooms are done after each school day, but summer is when the custodians “clean everything, cleaning one-hundred percent of each room.”  Before every school event and important meeting, the custodians are always helping out to make sure each juncture looks clean and presentable. 

To stay motivated, Mr. Perez said that one must be a self-starter, that one must have a good attitude towards their job, and think of what rewards come from the job, not what the downfalls of the job are. And for the most part, the custodians get to work on their own terms, which is a benefit Mr. Perez said-not having to constantly check in with one person. People may call up a custodian for a spill, but generally speaking, they do not have any specific person telling them what to do every day.  

Mr. Perez added that “I was self-employed for many years before I came here. I personally think that the pay is decent and the benefits are great.” Along with the great benefits, Mr. Perez added that he also relishes and appreciates the abundant comments he obtains about Central Bucks South. Mr. Perez appreciates hearing how wonderful South is, and takes pride in what others have to say about the school. 

 Another fulfillment that Mr. Perez gets from his job is the gratitude of others and “being able to make someone’s day.”  He appreciates helping people and receiving happiness from his gestures that bring joy to others.  

Senior prank day, Mr. Perez said, “really just depends on what the prank is.” Mr. Perez said that there indeed have been a couple “nasty” pranks, which were all left in the hands of the custodians to clean up, he added on how there is an extent to a prank, but after a while, it just becomes vandalism and destruction of the students’ own school.  

When interviewing sophomore, Julia Vit, Julia explained her thoughts on the custodians at school. “The custodians here at South,” Julia said, “do so much for the school, but get very little appreciation.” Julia added that “Whenever we have a school occasion or a mess is created, the custodians always are right there when we need help, and put in their time and effort to make South a better place.” 

Braylee Webb, sophomore, said that she “Always sees the custodians in the hallway” but has never shared an encounter with one of our maintenance staff members. Braylee added that “I know they help South become a better place, and I really wish there were more opportunities to thank them for all they do, because it does not go unnoticed.” 

Hearing the head custodian’s point of view on South is very informing, because it reminds the students how much hard work it takes to keep their school looking one-hundred percent everyday, and all year round. The custodians at Central Bucks South take pride in their job, and come in every day with determination and a good attitude.  

Listening to multiple students’ perspectives, the custodians deserve all of the students and staffs appreciation and gratitude for their time and dedication that is put into CB South every day.