Amber Gui and Ericka Applebee have spent their summer scraping gum off the bottom of desks and cleaning out other students' lockers.

Though the tasks they take on may seem like punishment, these Port Byron High School students are not in trouble; they are just trying to help the district's maintenance staff get buildings ready for the upcoming school year.

For school custodians, summer is the busiest season of the year. With teachers and students out of the buildings for only two months, custodians are repainting walls, waxing floors and cleaning surfaces they may only get to once a year.

"Having everyone out of the building for the summer gives us the chance to clean everything from top to bottom," said Mike Guewicz.

Guewicz and fellow custodian Mike Doyle spend their summers washing handprints off of walls and cleaning out glitter from hard-to-reach places in the Port Byron Elementary School.

Gui, 17, and Applebee, 16, are two of the seven students who teamed up with custodians like Guewicz and Doyle to scrub, clean and disinfect every surface in the district's three academic buildings.

"It gives you a new appreciation for how you treat things," Applebee said.

While the girls were not fond of cleaning the bathrooms and underneath old book shelves, they both said they would like to come back and help again next summer.

"Now we will tell people not to write on things or stick their gum places," Gui said. "And it was a fun summer, and we got to be with friends."

As school districts like Weedsport and Cato-Meridian wrap up their capital projects, the custodial and construction staffs have been working double time to put walls and windows in place, and still have time to clean up the mess left behind.

When Cato-Meridian custodians are not cleaning and fixing up the already existing classrooms, they are moving furniture into the building's newly finished wing. New desks arrived for students and teachers, along with file cabinets and new computers.

"It looks a little chaotic, a little messy, right now," said Mike Rizzi, Cato-Meridian high school principal. "But we are moving forward and getting things done."

Cato-Meridian began its $15 million project in 2003. All three schools were affected by the project and, last year, high school students worked through the construction, adapting to the changes going on.

The new wing consists of 13 classrooms, including new band and chorus rooms.

The old classrooms have also been renovated. Every room was given a new heater and windows and they are now in the process of being repainted.

Weedsport Elementary School may be done with its construction, but as the custodians finish up the final touches, hallways are lined with books waiting to be moved into classrooms, and the new "cafetorium" is currently the storage room for computers.

Elementary school principal Greg Hunter said everything will be in place for the start of the school year, and students will not only be greeted by clean hallways and brightly painted classrooms, but they will also get to enjoy food from a brand new, state-of-the-art kitchen.

"The custodians have cleaned every sill and surface in this building," Hunter said as he brushed his hand along the top of the library door. "We are spotless at the moment and everything just seems to shine."

With eight schools, Auburn school custodians find themselves extra busy in the summer.

Superintendent John Plume said summer cleaning is done with extra care, as custodians take the time to repair things, clean classroom blinds and air filters.

"We have been up on everything and it looks like we are in pretty good shape," said Auburn superintendent of buildings and grounds Larry Garrussic.

"We are in the best shape we have been in years," Plume said. "And it is because we don't have any major construction going on."

But there is more to getting a school ready for opening besides cleaning up scuff marks and putting down fresh paint. The summer months also give custodians the opportunity to inspect equipment and stock up on supplies for the upcoming months - tasks they may not get to as easily during the hustle of the school year.

"It is a lot of preventive upkeep," said Bob Warwick, Port Byron superintendent of buildings and grounds. "We have to check the fans up on the roof and all of the equipment inside to make sure it will last us the year."

The outsides of the schools are also maintained by the custodial staff. Lawns are mowed and plants are watered.

"It has been hard to maintain the outside of buildings this summer with the hot, dry weather," Plume said. "But we are trying to take care of everything."

Not everything will be finished by the start of the school year. Construction workers in Weedsport will continue working on a new district playground and Port Byron is still constructing a new weight and fitness room.

But as the summer closes, each district's custodial staff will continue to work to ensure that the buildings stay germ-free and meet the needs of the students and faculty.

"The bottom line is we are going to open one way or another," Rizzi said. "But at this point, I'd say we are in good shape."

Staff writer Ashley Lipsky can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 235 or ashley.lipsky@lee.net