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I'm a professional tradesman at one of Oregon's universities and I can honestly say funding for maintenance is woefully short. Years of cuts to maintenance and custodial budgets have left our once beautiful buildings filthy and run down. We do not perform maintenance, we simply make repairs as things break down, costing far more than it should.

Our department's mission is to be one other universities strive to emulate. With our current lack of proper funding and focus on appearance, rather than functionality, I cannot imagine anyone wanting to emulate this mess.

It would help greatly if we shift focus from procedure to results. We also must double our efforts to replace antiquated infrastructure to avoid catastrophic failures. 

Maintenance seems to be unpopular because much of it is behind the scenes and out of sight. I feel maintenance is the best investment that will rarely be noticed.

posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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