I found this article coming out of Alaska and feel it is not unlike the fiscal struggles of just about any entity that needs to handle the costs of snow and ice removal.  Public entities such as school districts have unique issues in comparison to a private company but the end results need to be the same.  Move the snow, get rid of the ice in the most efficient manner.  A few arguments in this case that need to be considered are:

Will the cost savings truly materialize?

Who cares more about the safety of the students? Does this matter?

Will the contractors show up before school starts and before school lets out?

Will the work be completed to the satisfaction of the schools and the students and the parents?

When you have fired the 3 employees and the plan doesn't work out as promised, then what?

Read the article for yourself and reply if you like.

Here's a video link as well: http://www.snowplownews.com/video/fire-employees-hire-contractors

Anchorage School District Cost-Saving Plan May be Headed to Arbitration

Reported by Jason Lamb Channel 2 News

5:15 p.m. AKDT, September 15, 2011

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—

A plan approved by the Anchorage School Board to outsource some of the snow removal operations in the Anchorage School District this year is raising the eyebrows of some in Anchorage's local Teamsters Union.

ASD employs a fleet of snow plows and road graters to remove snow and ice from school parking lots and fire lanes during days of snowy weather so schools can open in time.

To save money, the district proposed a pilot program that would outsource the snow removal work to private companies at nine of its schools: East High, Wendler Middle, Russian Jack Elementary, College Gate Elementary, Airport Heights Elementary, Rogers Park Elementary, Lake Otis Elementary, Whaley School and the King Career Center.

"We determined by contracting out the snow removal at these nine schools, we could reduce our workforce by three fulltime employees," said Mike Abbott, assistant superintendent at ASD.

The district says that reduction would save the district $273,598.

Members of the Alaska Teamsters Union Local 959 fill district snow plowing jobs.

According to a school board memorandum, Western Construction & Equipment and North Pole Contractors won the district contracts, for a total of $178,125, making for a total school district savings of roughly $95,000.

But Dale Miller with the Teamsters Union says his members may end up filing a grievance against the district -- claiming that it would actually be less expensive to allow his members to continue the snow removal operations than to contract the positions out.

"We believe that our members -- the districts own employees -- can do this work at a cheaper cost," Miller said.

Under the agreement, the private contractors would be responsible for plowing, sanding and removing snow and ice from school grounds and taking it to an offsite location.

But Miller says his district employees also do other tasks not mentioned in the contractor's "scope of work" agreement -- like pothole and asphalt repair.

He says if those tasks were included in the work the contractors orders, it would likely cost the district more than what they're paying Teamsters members now.

"I understand their analysis, and I know where they're coming from," said Abbott.  "We don't believe it's correct."

The district says the extra work previously done by ASD employees in addition to snow removal will still be done -- just with different employees.

Nonetheless, Miller says the union is considering filing a grievance against the district for violating the terms of its collective bargaining agreement with the district, which could send the issue to an independent arbitrator.

"We will take full advantage of the process that both sides have agreed to to address the issue and resolve it," Miller said.

Both sides agree that arbitration could be costly, though it wouldn't approach the $95,000 the district says it would save by contracting the snow removal work out.

"It would certainly be ideal if we didn't have to go through this process, but we're certainly not surprised," Abbott said.

The three positions ASD had eliminated in its 2011-12 budget were already vacant, but Teamsters officials say that doesn't mean they're not worth fighting for.

Depending on actual money savings this year, the district says it may look to expand its snow removal outsourcing program to other schools next year.