Craig Hughes is a man on a mission. As grounds supervisor for Tracy Public Schols in Tracy, California, he is responsible for maintaining 17 school sites. His crews mow upwards of 230 acres of grass weekly, perform saftey inspections at playgrounds, prep athletic fields and overall maintain the school grounds.
"Right now, we're fighting to just stay ahead of the grass," tells Hughes, a 21-year veteran of the department. Heavy rains, canceled athletic meets, and testing at the schools all worked to keep Hughes and his crews on their toes this past spring.
But playing catch-up is not unusual at the Tracy school system where new construction - to keep ahead of a growing population base - has been the watchword for the past decade. Another school is planned to add to the rolls that already county two high schools, three middle schools, and 12 elementary schools.
Keeping the sites maintained is no small feat, tells Hughes. "We could always use more manpower, there's too much rain and too much going on. But despite that, I feel we have excellent equipment and men."
The bulk of the maintenance chores is left to his six employees who operate two Jakes, one Toro, and two Walker Mowers, and a complement of handheld equipment. A recently purchased John Deere reel mower maintains an athletic field planted with hybrid Bermuda grass.
The school system is well equipped today, but it wasn't always that way, Hughes remembers.
"When I first started, I was the only groundsperson. I used to mow the fields with a ground-driven mower. When I was finished, it didn't even look like I had mowed it. Oh, we've operated a lot of old mowing equipment over the years."
Tracy purchased its first Walker a little more than 10 years ago. Hughes says he saw his first Walker at a turf show and asked the dealer to demonstrate it.
"At the time the grass at a new school was 10 inches high. We mowed it with a 32-inch walk-behind and it just took forever. I never dreamed a mower could do what that Walker did. I wanted it ASAP. The following year i bought another.
Today, his crews operate tho 20-hp GHS models with new 36-inch tilt-up decks. Between the two of them, they mow approximately 80 acres a week. There's only one lawn where crews operate a walk-behind.. because it's rather disruptive to drive the Walker Mower down a hallway to get to the lawn, Hughes notes with a smile.
Rags To Riches
"I keep telling the guys they're spoiled," relates Hughes. "Back in the old days, we didn't even have backpack blowers and line trimmers, not to mention zero-turn riders like the Walker." In fact, Hughes says the purchase of the Walker Mowers really took the school district from "rags to riches" in terms of equipment.
Now, in addition to the mowers, the school operates a 6-inch-diameter chipper that turns tree limbs into useful mulch. It also plans to purchase an enclosed trailer to transport mowers and manpower to sites that could be as far away as 5 miles.
But it seems that all of the equipment in the world can't keep pace with growth patterns. The school district is home to thousands of commuters who work in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay area.
The irony for Hughes? H e probably had more time for landscaping and beautification projects back in the early days than he does now. His main mowing crew is busy from March straight through to November. And seemingly more special events than ever before put a "monkey wrench" into a monthly mowing schedule.
In addition, a big part of Hughes' job is to ensure that playgrounds are safe. Hence, crews don't just police and mow an area, they pick up glass, fill in holes, and make sure there is enough sand under the swing sets and other playground equipment.
The inspection takes time, just as the "million or so" other chores do. When combined with dodging rain drops and mowing around the school's testing schedules, Hughes finds himself almost always playing catch-up.
That's one of the main reasons he likes his Walkers. They save him time.
"I haven't had a stitch of problems with any of them over the years," he explains. "They're efficient and easy to operate, and if we need a belt or other part, we don't have to go to Japan to get it. Handling the clippings has been a breeze, too."
Hughes lets out a chuckle, then adds, "I love our Walkers. I don't think there's another mower on the market that can compare." H e's not just saying that, either. When asked what he would do if someone took his Walker away, he said, "I'd quit."
Not that he would if push came to shove, especially in an environment where budget concerns can always be a fact of life. But so far, he has been able to convince his superiors that using quality, time-saving equipment is one of the only ways his department can stay on the same fast track with the schools.
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