For over 100 years our facilities have been maintained by licensed in-house personnel. Presently, out school district is in negotiations with an outside entity ( Sodexo) to provide these services . If this happens, we will no longer be Putnam city schools. No longer Putnam city employees, we will lose our retirement and health care that is provided as state employees. Three years ago the district agreed that if we paid our retirement, they would start paying after the three years and after another two we would be vested, guaranteeing we would have at least a small amount a month in our older age. This is the first month they would have taken over, we will receive nothing from it. Our maintenance department is in it for the long term. I myself have been here for over 23 years . I have grown up in the services of Putnam city. I started when I was 16 still in high school. I'm not the only one. Many have been here as long or longer. We have one person that has been here for 38 plus. We are loyal to the district even staying at times when we could have made more elsewhere. All for not. What will happen to our district when over a century of collective knowledge of how these building run and operate is lost. They tell us that we are guaranteed a job, but for how long ? All the extra effort we put forth to accommodate the principles the teachers and students making it a safe and productive learning environment will be drastically reduced becoming more maintaining what is there as opposed to building better. I'm asking for your help. If you are a patron of the district, a teacher, principal, coach, teacher's assistant, or anyone else in the district in this facilities this will affect you as well. Please consider signing this petition, and also contacting the school board members Putnam City district. Thank you.