In  some  instances  the  board  supplies  the  materials  and  hires
men  by  the  day  to  make  the  repairs  needed.  This  practice  has
not  generally  proved  satisfactory.  In  many  cases  the  men  se-
lected to  do  the  repair  work  are  not  skilled  mechanics  and  of-
tentimes there  is  insufficient  supervision  and  planning  of  the
things  to  be  done.  Another  plan  that  is  sometimes  followed  is
for  the  board  to  let  all  repair  work  on  contract  This  probably
has  some  merit  over  the  selection  of  day  laborers.  However,
most  boards  of  education  do  not  know  how  to  make  up  detailed
specifications  setting  forth  the  type  of  work  and  the  quality  of
materials  desired  in  the  repair  and  maintenance  program.  One


SCHOOL    BUILDING    MAINTENANCE    AND    REPAIR  351

consequence  is  that  bids  are  not  comparable  since  the  bidders  do
not  have  adequate  information.  Neither  of  these  practices  has
proved  fully  desirable  for  the  school  districts.
Some  school  districts  maintain  central  repair  shops  and  have
a  regular  force  of  repair  men  who  do  all  of  the  repair  work
needed  in  the  district.  These  men  are  available  on  call  for
emergency  repairs  in  any  building.  When  not  making  emer-
gency repairs  they  are  making  other  changes  set  up  in  their
regular  maintenance  schedule.  This  plan  has  the  advantage  in
that  trained  men  familiar  with  the  buildings  are  available  at  any
time.  This  method  is  not  practical  for  small  school  districts.
