NATCHEZ — In an attempt to decrease turnover among its janitorial staff and save up to $20,000 annually, the Natchez-Adams School District Board of Trustees has moved its custodial hiring in house.

The board voted to cut ties with ServiceMaster, a cleaning company, in June. At the July board meeting, Interim Superintendent Fred Butcher proposed hiring 10 custodial employees for a cost of approximately $254,000, including salary and benefits.

“We decided that we could provide the same level services with district employees,” Butcher said. “There was high turnover in staffing with ServiceMaster, and we wanted the most consistent personnel in our buildings.”

On top of preventing turnover, Butcher also said there could be savings.

“The savings will vary based on the level of experience that the applicants we select have,” Butcher said. “However, we expect to save approximately anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000.”

Trustee Thelma Newsome, commenting that the kitchen staff received an across-the-board 25-cent raise, wondered if something were being put in place for the custodians.

Butcher said at this point custodial pay was already in the budget, but it could be considered at another date.

The jobs are full time and start at $7.93 per hour.

With the large pool of people who have applied for these positions, Butcher said he anticipated having all of the new custodial employees in place by Monday.

The district is hiring employees for Robert Lewis Magnet School, the Morgantown academies and McLaurin, Frazier and West elementary schools.

The other schools — Natchez High School, Natchez Freshman Academy, Fallin Career and Technology Center, Natchez Early College Academy and Braden Administration Building — already used custodians employed by the district.