Steve Baird – Maintenance Engineer/District Electrician

Job Description: Steve is one of three Maintenance Engineers in the district. He is officially the district’s electrician, but works in all aspects of maintenance including carpentry, window glazing, signage, plumbing, HVAC and more.

Location: The Maintenance Shop near Central Administration

Typical Day: Steve starts his day at 6 am to work in the buildings before anyone arrives. He takes care of lighting issues, including changing bulbs or wiring and works his way through a daily “punch list” of jobs that need to get done. It is Steve you see driving around in the white truck with the “boom” on top. Before the district got the truck, Steve used to work on the parking lot lights with a ladder. “It got a little scary sometimes,” he said. In the afternoon, he goes back to the office to complete paperwork, check his emails and go over his list of work orders for the next day. He leaves at 2:30 pm.

Best part of the job: No day is ever the same and I get to see all of my girls’ activities.

Something people may not know: There are no “subs” in maintenance, so each engineer needs to be able to fill in for the other. This past year Steve has worked on everything from remodeling the Superintendent’s office, to converting the lighting in the portables to energy saving lights, to building covered roofs for the dug outs at the South Mercer field. He also did cement work at West Mercer.

Years worked in the district: 29 years. Steve graduated from Mercer Island High School in 1980 and started driving a school bus. Then he got the job in maintenance and has been here ever since.

Outside interests: Steve and his wife Chris have 3 daughters – Caitlin, MacKenzie and Haley, all at Mercer Island High School. The family enjoys the outdoors, particularly boating on Lake Washington, and Steve likes to ride his bicycle, ski and work on his various remodeling projects.