It’s hard to believe Kingsley Area Schools’ facilities team is a two-man crew. Facilities Director Jim Moen and Assistant Director Jeff Veit are responsible for everything from plumbing to electrical work, turf management to painting, snow shoveling to making repairs, and everything in between. Their days start early, often solving problems before students and staff even enter the building.
"We arrive at 6:00AM most mornings. In the wintertime, if we have to do snow removal, we are here at 4:00AM. Then, we check our work tickets. We try to be in the rooms from 6-8:00AM doing any repairs that need to be made in the classroom so we're not interrupting the teachers," said Mr. Moen.
During the summer, the facilities team tackles big projects like resealing the driveways and making installations. This year, they tackled playground fencing, replacing the elementary's boilers, and several other big jobs.
"Spring to fall, it's just go, go, go," said Mr. Moen.
"I'd say one of my favorite parts of the job is that we're constantly rotating what we're doing," said Mr. Veit.
Mr. Moen and Mr. Veit are both new to the district; it's Jim's second year and Jeff's first, but this dynamic duo goes way back. They used to work together at the City of Mount Pleasant.
Prior to joining KAS, Mr. Moen was an electrician who traveled to projects across Northern Michigan, driving to jobs as far as Manistee and Petoskey.
"I used to get home at 8:30 at night and have to leave at 4:30 in the morning every day. Now, I love working where my son goes to school. It's pretty great being able just to stop in and say hi to him in his classroom or walk through the playground and he can run up to me to give me a hug," said Mr. Moen.
Mr. Veit's background is in facilities and groundskeeping. He's worked in factory jobs as well but most recently worked for Soaring Eagle Casinos as a handyman and groundskeeper.
"I did all the landscaping and mowing, and later moved inside to hotel maintenance. I also worked a factory job before this, and while I'm good at repetitious stuff, it gets boring after a while," said Mr. Veit.
"It's nice being in a job where it's different every day. Having different projects is nice."
“There are new challenges every day. There’s never a dull moment!” said Mr. Moen.
Thank you, Jim and Jeff, for everything you do for Kingsley Area Schools!
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To learn more about facilities at KAS, visit https://www.kingsleyschools.org/community-resources