Since the Chicago school board made the decision to contract out the cleaning for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), cleanliness issues have been rampant.

In February 2014, the board signed a three-year custodial services deal that was hailed as “one of the greatest janitorial breakthroughs since the invention of the mop.” The deal was promised to result in “cleaner schools,” “less work for principals,” “up to $40 million in savings,” and “a world class organization for our world class students.”

Instead, the Chicago Reader reports that the deal “has been a catastrophe on several fronts.” The Sun-Times reported that CPS will have to pay additional fees because board officials undercounted the number of schools needing cleaning. The mistake reduced the expected savings substantially.

Promises of cleaner schools and less work for educators was also greatly exaggerated. In September 2014, a survey of CPS principals revealed overwhelmingly unfavorable results. Since the contract was implemented, there have also been countless cleanliness complaints made by teachers, parents and even students.

Now, teachers are taking their complaints to the unions. According to Reader reporting, educators are tired of splitting their time between instructing kids and mopping, scrubbing and vacuuming their dirty classrooms. Teachers have filed a union grievance that, if successful, could force CPS to hire back some of the custodial crew that was let go after the contract took affect.

One teacher was quoted as saying: “Nothing against the custodians we have — they're doing everything they can. But our school was getting dirtier and dirtier.”

In preparation of their case, teachers began keeping a log of their work. Tasks included everything from picking up a bloody paper towel in the restroom to mopping up vomit or emptying trash. According to the grievance, school janitors have told teachers “that they are not allowed to spend more than four minutes cleaning in a classroom,” and “they were told that if a classroom looks fine they should skip it and go to the next class.”

Read the full Chicago Reader article here.