When Allen Tanner started working at the Frenship Independent School District in Texas in 2006, the district had eight school buildings total. Today, the district is booming, growing at a rate of about 3 percent a year.
“Now, we have nine elementary schools, four middle schools and one high school, and we are currently in the process of building a new high school,” says Tanner, a 2024 Facility Champion recipient. “We are also considering passing another bond to build two more elementary schools.”
While sustained population growth is good for a city and school district, additional funding and labor support don’t always come along at the same level. Thanks to his nearly 40 years of experience in maintenance and engineering management, Tanner’s leadership and ability to balance the budget has been a key proponent in the district’s building growth.
As maintenance coordinator, Tanner oversees 25 employees who work on HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, along with whatever other challenges come the department’s way.
“Allen is very organized, from counting every HVAC unit, knowing how old the unit is, each piece of kitchen equipment, vehicles, how old the roofs are and many other things as well,” says Shane Langen, a peer who nominated Tanner for the award. “For example, we are building a 580,000 square foot second high school. Allen is on top of making sure our first high school will be updated with new floors, classroom carpet, painted walls and new restrooms. Allen can see the bigger picture as we grow and is a huge asset to the district.”
Tanner takes pride in his district’s preventive maintenance program, which has saved the district millions of dollars. One project that he is particularly proud of was an asbestos management plan that is digitally posted via the OneDrive app that all the district’s campuses can share.
“This approach has significantly reduced the amount of work needed to update asbestos records,” Tanner says. “Now, updates can be made all at once, eliminating the need to visit each campus individually to update their specific plans.”
Another area where Tanner shines is spotlighting his maintenance team. Frenship holds a banquet at the end of every school year for its maintenance, custodial and grounds departments, totaling 170 employees.
Through relationships with contractors and vendors, Tanner has helped recognize those employees at the banquet by awarding each person a gift card and holding a drawing for prizes that include big-screen televisions, furniture and other awards.
His management skills also shined with a recent employee who was struggling before Tanner helped turn his work situation around.
“The easy road was to part ways with this employee, but Allen has taken the time to talk with the employee and help this employee to see a bigger vision and where to improve his performance. Allen has done this with lots of grace and patience,” Tanner says. “To me a strong leader is able to find the weakest employee and coach them to the high expectations they have for all individuals. Allen could have easily terminated this employee, but because he believed in this staff member and sets high expectations, he was able to grow this staff member. Once again it goes back to relationships and the culture he has built throughout the maintenance department.”
Dave Lubach is the executive editor of the facility market.
