The Summer Facility Reset: Why Communication and Timing Matter More Than Cleaning Alone

LSFMA Sponsor Blog

By Momentum Building Services
https://momentumbsla.com/

St. Joseph's Academy’s (Baton Rouge, La.) Student Activity Center.

If summer facility work is treated like routine cleaning instead of a strategic reset, schools often pay for it all year long.

After supporting more than 20 schools across three Louisiana parishes and maintaining over 2.4 million square feet of educational facilities during peak summer turnover, one thing becomes clear quickly: the schools that prepare intentionally during summer experience fewer problems, smoother openings, and less reactive maintenance once students and staff return.

While floor care and deep cleaning are important, successful summer turnover is about much more than cleaning alone. It is about communication, coordination, and timing.

Christine Sedotal
Regional Director 
Momentum Building Services

A Successful Summer Reset Is a Logistical Ballet

One of the biggest misconceptions about summer facility preparation is believing it happens in isolation.

In reality, preparing schools for a successful August opening functions more like a logistical ballet, where multiple departments and vendors must move in sync to avoid delays, missed details, and unnecessary stress before teachers return.

Floor crews cannot begin too early if classrooms are still being moved. Maintenance teams need access for repairs and preventative work. Technology departments may be installing equipment and updating systems. Cafeterias may still be operating summer feeding programs. Administrators are preparing buildings while summer school activities continue.

Even the best summer plan can get off track quickly when one delay affects three other departments.

Timing matters.

The most successful school turnovers are often the result of strong communication between all divisions of a school system. When departments coordinate schedules early and communicate consistently, projects move faster, buildings are better prepared, and last minute surprises are significantly reduced.

Simply put: the week before teachers return is not the time to discover something was missed.

Preparation Starts Long Before Summer

One of the biggest mistakes schools can make is waiting until May to begin thinking about summer turnover.

In our experience, successful summer facility work starts months earlier.

At Momentum Building Services, we begin preparing our summer floor and facility calendar as early as February. That process starts with communication. We work directly with principals to understand summer school schedules, athletic camps, testing, teacher access, facility use, and any events planned throughout the summer months.

From there, coordination expands across departments.

We communicate with maintenance teams to understand repair schedules and planned projects. We identify areas where flooring, painting, HVAC work, technology upgrades, or furniture moves may overlap so crews are not working against one another.

By the end of March, supplies are ordered, staffing plans are finalized, and logistics begin taking shape.

By April 1, a complete summer floor schedule is distributed, giving school leadership and support departments roughly eight weeks to review, coordinate, and communicate conflicts before work begins.

Because once the last school bell rings, the clock starts.

Summer turnover moves quickly, and the most successful projects are rarely the result of last minute effort. They are the result of early planning, strong communication, and departments working together toward the same goal.

Areas Schools Should Prioritize During Summer

While every campus has unique needs, there are several high impact areas facility managers should prioritize during the summer window.

Floor Care Should Never Be an Afterthought
Summer is often the only opportunity to fully strip, wax, buff, or restore hard surface floors without daily traffic interrupting the process. Delaying floor care can shorten floor life and create avoidable wear that becomes more expensive over time.

High Touch and High Visibility Areas Matter
Entrances, front offices, railings, door hardware, cafeterias, and common areas often create the first impression of a facility. Summer is an ideal time to address buildup, detail cleaning, and deferred maintenance in these spaces.

Restrooms Require More Than Surface Cleaning
Odor control, grout, partitions, dispensers, vents, and hard to reach areas often need deeper attention during summer months to prevent ongoing issues during the school year.

Walk Buildings Before Problems Grow
One of the simplest but most effective habits is conducting a full campus walkthrough before reopening. Identifying worn floors, damaged areas, recurring cleanliness concerns, or overlooked maintenance issues early can prevent costly reactive fixes later.

Summer provides one of the few opportunities schools have to reset facilities before daily demands return. A thoughtful plan, strong communication, and early coordination can make the difference between a smooth opening and a stressful scramble.

The schools that consistently experience the best transitions into a new academic year are rarely the ones reacting at the last minute. More often, they are the ones that began planning months earlier, communicated across departments, and treated summer as an opportunity to prepare intentionally.

At Momentum Building Services, we have seen firsthand that when schools approach summer preparation strategically, campuses open cleaner, safer, and better prepared for the year ahead.

Momentum Building Services is offering LSFMA members a complimentary Summer Readiness Assessment to help identify high wear areas, scheduling conflicts, deferred cleaning needs, and facility priorities before the school year begins.