The job and department, often unseen, make a significant impact in the district each year, despite a staff of just three. Raymond Cich is the Manager for Print and Mail Services.

“What we do is we take care of a lot of the printing needs for the district, and we also take care of a lot of the mailing and shipping needs for the district and for the ABC building,” Cich said.

One of Cich’s biggest responsibilities is managing the printing of curriculum for Westside, though the team handles any paper-related project.

“We do a lot of curriculum, like workbooks and worksheets for the elementary schools,” he said. “But it’s not limited to just that. We also do business cards, letterheads, stationery, and assessments.”

In addition to decodables and yearbooks for the elementary schools, another major project is the commencement program each May, though that involves less printing.

“Just for one semester of decodables, we print about 250,000 sheets of paper,” Cich said. “And typically, that takes us about three months to complete one semester’s worth.” Over the course of a year, the team prints anywhere from 3 to 3.5 million sheets of paper.

This volume is supported by Cich’s extensive experience: 26 years at Westside, 18 years prior in print services at Omaha Public Schools and the private sector.

“I think the things I like most are the more challenging jobs we do,” he said. “A lot of times, those jobs test my abilities, and I really appreciate that kind of work.”

One particularly challenging project is the district-wide annual report.

“That job is tough because it’s not printed on a conventional size of paper,” Cich explained. “Getting the machine to handle that odd size, and setting it up properly, is always a challenge—but it’s very gratifying once it’s running and looks nice.”

In addition to print services, Cich’s team handles mail and shredding.

“We process about 1,000 pieces of mail a month, much of it coming from the other buildings—elementary schools and the middle school,” he said.