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12/20/2023 08:30 AMIn his daily role as Guilford Public Schools (GPS) Director of Operations and Facilities and in his volunteer service as a firefighter/EMT with Guilford Fire Department, Clifford Gurhham works to support his hometown of Guilford.
A Madison native, Clifford moved to Guilford with his wife Lynn, a Guilford native, in 1997. They raised their three children, twin sons Jack and Connor and daughter Isabelle, in Guilford, where they were GPS students.
Clifford joined Guilford Fire Department Volunteer Company 1 soon after moving to town. He’s served the company as a past lieutenant and continues to serve as a volunteer firefighter/EMT. As an EMT, Clifford is also on the fire rescue squad.
Luckily for GPS, Clifford is usually already on the job when a fire department response is needed at one of the school district’s buildings.
“I can monitor all the fire alarms through my office, see an activation, get there, and sometimes be able to turn around the fire department because I have that information on-scene,“ he says. ”It makes it safer, and if there is a problem, I can direct them to the right location because I know the school.“
Clifford began his work as GPS Director of Operations and Facilities in February 2007. In nearly 16 years, a lot has changed for GPS, including ushering in the new Guilford High School (GHS) facility on New England Road. Clifford was involved in the lengthy planning process and resulting building project from start to finish. The energy-efficient facility, which features state-of-the-art technology throughout the building, first opened its doors to students, faculty, and staff in 2015.
“It was a big project for the district, and it really went off without a hitch,” says Clifford. “Everyone that comes to see the building and use the building has told us how great it is, and it’s been holding up quite nicely.”
On the other side of the coin, Clifford is also responsible for the operation of Adams Middle School, which includes as part of its building amalgam a portion of the original Guilford High School building, constructed in 1936.
“That’s a school that needs a bit more attention than the new high school,” says Clifford.
He says ongoing support and investment from the Board of Education has helped to bring improvement to the facility in recent years.
“They’ve put a substantial amount of money into it over the past 15 years, whether it's been for roofing or HVAC or the drainage work we’ve done to help alleviate the lower-level flooding in the 1936 building,” says Clifford.
Prior to fixing the flooding issue, a hard rain would require setting up sandbags to keep water from flowing into the lower level, Clifford recalls.
“At one point, we called the fire department to get us more pumps to keep up with the amount of water coming in,” he remembers.
Fixing the Adams’ flooding issue not only stopped water infiltration but improved facility use by allowing for new installations, making the lower section of the building more suitable and usable to the students and staff.
However, Clifford is also mindful that money will need to continue to go into keeping up systems in an outdated building that doesn’t meet 21st-century educational programmatic needs. Planning for the future of the town’s school facilities is part of the job that requires Clifford to forecast budget needs for buildings, materials, personnel, and more. Right now, it’s budget time again, he notes.
“It’s always challenging. We obviously want to take into consideration the taxpayer, but at the same time, I see our critical needs,“ says Clifford.
For example, GPS has one HVAC tech caring for systems in the town’s seven schools, including some newly installed systems at Baldwin Middle School and Lakes and Cox Elementary Schools.
“We’re investing well in it, but also, we need to take care of it,” says Clifford. “The best way of doing that is bringing on a second person that’s certified, so we’re doing a lot of the maintenance that’s required. As we know, with all the new indoor air quality regulations, just the upkeep of changing filters quarterly and maintaining equipment is critical.”
Together with the current HVAC tech, the district facilities team includes an employee covering general school maintenance issues (such as plumbing), an electrician, and one grounds worker maintaining all school grounds and plantings (except for school fields), with help from a recently-hired part-time grounds worker at GHS.
“We don’t have a huge team taking care of seven buildings, and we also maintain the multiple administration buildings as well,“ says Clifford. ”On top of that, we have about 35 custodians in the district. I give them huge kudos, especially with pushing through COVID. They all take pride in their schools and want to keep them at the best level they can. The Board of Ed[ucation] has been great over the past number of years, allowing us to increase our staff, so we can then provide better services and a higher quality of cleanliness to the students and staff.“
Monitoring areas of health and safety at GPS facilities include overseeing school security systems. Clifford has helped the district proactively develop its operational and facility security protocols.
“We had door-access systems and buzzer systems well before Sandy Hook happened, and of course, we’ve grown and keep trying to improve on that, wherever we find technology we think will help with the health and safety of the students and staff,” Clifford says.
He adds that the public and district support for much-needed upgrades has been gratifying.
“Obviously, it’s not inexpensive, but it’s definitely very beneficial,” Clifford says.
As a Guilford resident and taxpayer himself, Clifford is also mindful of the need to budget carefully and responsibly while also working to create the best outcomes for the district and the community it serves.
“I think of it as if I’m doing my job well, and our staff is doing their job well when people walk into a school, they don’t see any issues. They’re comfortable, and they feel safe,” he says.