ELPS Administrator Finding New Ways to Care for Campuses, Cut Costs
Billy Hastings is an unassuming man, defined by his work ethic and a gentleness that defies stereotypes often associated with his line of work. Hastings came to East Lansing Public Schools in January 2023, becoming the district’s director of facilities and operations. Before that, he had worked 30 years in Haslett schools.
“I started out washing dishes,” he said proudly. “I got out of the military in ‘91, right from overseas, and I needed a job. So I started washing dishes two hours a day. And then I went to [be] the delivery driver. I was a groundsman. I was a maintenance man. And then I became an administrator, like I am in this position.”
Hastings literally took over a mess.
He started in the district shortly after it cut ties with a contracted company that had provided custodial services since 2003. ELPS made the switch to in-house services because the former service provider struggled to hire custodians, which led to trash piling up and some classrooms being described as “filthy.” The situation was so dire, district teachers and administrators were pitching in as de facto custodians in their free time.
The turnaround has been sharp, largely because of the pride Hastings and his team take in their jobs. When the position at ELPS opened up, Hastings saw it as an appropriate capstone to his career.
“My father was a maintenance man here,” he said. “And I remember going with my dad checking steam boilers for the schools here. Even though I loved my job at Haslett, I always admired East Lansing schools and their operations. They take pride in their grounds and buildings.”

In the 18 months since taking on his role, Hastings has transformed the way the district cares for its campuses. He has discovered in-house solutions to several services the district was contracting companies to do, saving the district tens of thousands of dollars.
“The high school campus was farmed out [to external contractors],” Hastings said. “So I got to know the employees and said, ‘Hey, we’ve been farming this mowing out; do you think you’d be willing to take it over? Now, custodians and maintenance people normally don’t mow. They’re not the grounds department. But, I got a couple people that volunteered. We purchased another mower. We didn’t realize the savings that first year because of the cost of the mower, but this year we saved about $30,000 by mowing ourselves.”
Hastings also looked into the winter maintenance of the schools.
“[For] the three schools off Harrison Road, we were farming out plowing services,” he said, referring to Glencairn, Robert L. Green and Red Cedar Elementary Schools. “So, I again went to the employees and asked if anyone was willing to go into the grounds department. It wasn’t an order; it was by volunteer; and we found people. We bought a truck with a plow and we’ll realize those savings this winter [and it’ll be] about $40,000.”
His latest cost-saving measure was being practiced the day of our interview as Hastings had several employees resurfacing the high school gym’s hardwood floors.
“We have four [gyms] and they average about $7,000 a year to resurface,” he said. “So I was able to get with some folks who had been doing floors for a long time and they volunteered to come in this week and train a floor crew. Again, by volunteer. And these guys and gals are really into this. They’re being trained how to take the first layer of the finish off, go back through, and reapply. It’s a pretty cool process and it has to be exact. But they’re taking a lot of pride in their work. They want to get it right.”

Hastings gives credit to the district leaders for their openness to his initiatives to bring services that were formerly contracted out back into the hands of district employees.
“I thank the board and the superintendent,” he said, singling out Richard Pugh, the ELPS director of finance. “He has a reputation in our industry as being very fiscally sound and responsible.
“And Dori [Leyko, superintendent], she treats my folks the same as she treats the teachers, the same as she treats other administrators, with respect. And people see that.”
He likens his own role to that of a coach.
“It’s as if I have a bunch of athletes,” he said, “and I put the athletes in the positions that they can be as successful as they can. And I keep them happy doing what they’re doing, learning a trade.”
Hastings pauses and thinks before moving on, almost as if he’s realizing a larger role played by his team.
“And here’s the thing,” he said, “I’ve been doing this a long time and some of the first people these children see are the custodians. When they see the custodian in the morning, they see a friendly face that the kids are used to. It’s a tough job to be a day custodian, especially in elementary school because you have to be the person to wear a lot of hats. I mean, they’re in the hall cleaning up after the kids and the kids will talk with them and ask questions and interact.
“And I tell you, the crew we have working here are just great. I didn’t necessarily hire them on experience; I hired them on attitude and the willingness to be a team player. You can teach someone how to do a floor, but attitude is something else. I like to say that we provide with pride. We provide a clean, safe environment for our children and staff to learn and live in.”
During ELi’s interview with Hastings, it becomes obvious that he knows the school buildings like the back of his hand.
“East Lansing has over 800,000 square feet of buildings,” he said. “These buildings are cleaned by roughly 30 people. If you put that into housing terms, say about 2,000 square feet houses, those same 30 people clean a little over 400 houses. Each person cleans the equivalent of 12 houses per day. They clean all the floors. They do the trash and wipe down tables. They clean the bathrooms, clean kitchens, set-up and tear down for activities and while they’re doing that, they respond to emergency spills and kids getting sick.”

He added the district maintenance team is comprised of three individuals who respond to more than 1,000 work orders each year, in addition to plowing and cutting more than 60 acres of grass.
With all this work to be done and the common challenge of filling empty positions, ELi asked Hastings if he has had issues filling out the ranks of his team.
“No, I haven’t,” he responded quickly, “because East Lansing schools is one of the last districts that actually offers a livable wage for the work we do. That’s not an easy feat. That takes some real thought, especially at the board [of education] level. We want good people here and we want to be able to pay them enough so they can raise a family like I did.
“It’s like the old adage: you get what you pay for. It’s true.”
Board of Education President Chris Martin praised Hastings and his team while speaking with ELi.
“Billy and his team take a tremendous amount of pride in our district’s facilities,” he said. “They work long hours to create and maintain the best learning spaces in the region. I have worked closely with Billy since he joined the district. Billy always impresses me with his knowledge of the types of preventative maintenance and investments that stretch district funds. And obviously, we really appreciate the money Billy’s work and wisdom saves the district in the long-term.”
Hastings, who turns 59 in August, repeatedly referred to his position with ELPS as his retirement job.
“I don’t plan to leave anytime soon,” he said, “but it feels appropriate that my last job will be where my dad had worked 50 years earlier. I also have an idea of who could replace me when I finish. We have so many good people here.”