Prison labor to be used at a Maricopa County school district to ease budget constraints

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - A Maricopa County school district is turning to prison labor to stay within budget.

Inmates at Lewis Prison in Buckeye will soon be responsible for custodial and landscaping needs within the Gila Bend Unified School District.

This is something the district has been looking into since October.

Superintendent Robert Varner says several restrictions will be in place and inmates will never be on campus when students are there.

"We just now heard about it," said Ron Loper, a parent of a student in the district. "I have no problem with it. Most of them are doing work release programs. They have put their time in. They're getting in the process of being out, getting ready to start their lives over again and, hopefully, this gives them a place to start."

Varner says this option allows the district to keep current programs and staff without having to make budgetary cuts. Still, this does come with some parent concerns.

"Their concerns are as big as my concerns. Are they going to be here when the kids are here? No. Are they going to have access to certain things? No. Are they going to be heavily supervised? Yes," Varner said.

For 50 cents an hour, five to 10 inmates from Lewis Prison will work four to five hours from Saturday through Monday.

"Prisoners or inmates are vetted. We're talking about the least of the least, mostly white-collar, getting out," Varner said.

All the work is done when students are not on campus.

Jobs include landscaping, maintaining fields, and maintenance staff duties like cleaning the gym floors.

"It's $18,000 for 18 months and to hire one employee with benefits is between $40-$45K at an entry-level position," the superintendent explained.

At a press conference Tuesday morning, Governor Katie Hobbs was asked about prison labor and their hourly compensation.

"This is on the list, in terms of looking at and making sure that it is providing the right tools for prisoners when they are released, and that it's treating them fairly," Hobbs said.

To some parents, this is positive for both the school district and inmates.

"Everybody deserves a second chance," Loper said.

The contract will take effect during spring break, which is the first week of March.

Varner says if this does not go smoothly, the contract allows the district to terminate its agreement with Lewis Prison at any time.