SITE TECHNICIAN: CHRIS KENNEY

Prior to distance learning, a typical day for Kenney varied. In the morning, he would make sure the temperatures in classrooms were stable, and then move on to monitoring his crew, which includes groundskeepers and custodians. Throughout the rest of the day, teachers would request repairs for doors, HVACs (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) and lights, as well as help with locks.

Since March 2020, however, Kenney says that he and his crew have been on an extended version of summer. Normally, the crew starts a process called deep cleaning midway through June, in which they shampoo carpets, strip the floors and use the VCT (Vinyl Composition Tile) to put clear coats on the floors. Since students did not return to campus this school year, they’ve continued this process of deep cleaning for longer — the gym floor and the field house floor have both been redone.

Kenney estimates that approximately 10-15 teachers are on campus each day, so his normal job continues to a lesser extent, but he still has to ensure that the school’s WiFi system functions without interruptions.

Due to construction in the upper floors this year, Kenney has also helped with maintenance of certain classrooms, making sure the rooms were disinfected and that the construction crew arranged the furniture correctly.

And although Kenney notes that his workload has decreased, he misses MVHS’ bustling campus.

“I miss not having a mascot,” Kenney said. “Just talking to people, seeing the students’ smiling faces running around campus, and yeah I just, I miss this place [when it’s] supposed to be full of 2,600 people. It’s not supposed to have 30 people here. So it’s getting a little old, the way things are going. We’re going to have to deal with it for a little while longer, I know that, but I would love for things to get back to normal — start seeing students come back. It would be nice to see a new remodeled building being utilized rather than sitting empty.”