COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. - Saving tax payer money sounds good, but janitors in the Collier County School District want to know -- at what cost?

The district wants to save money by using a private company to clean schools.

The Collier County School District is looking to make up a $20 million budget shortfall. One of the proposals to make cuts includes laying off people like Leo. He's worked for the district for 16 years, and he's one of 250 people who could lose their jobs to privatization.

If the sound of cars honking is any indication of support, custodians protesting the possibility of losing their jobs has not gone unnoticed.

"I have a lot of taxes to pay," Leo Pozo, custodian, says. "Even though I am 75, I have to keep working, otherwise I will lose my house. And, I have a family to support."

"It means my future -- benefits and everything," Rosario Perez-Naredo, custodian, says.

Along the busy Pine Ridge Road near district headquarters, picketers carry signs showing their fears -- like keeping schools safe and making a living wage.

"We don't know who these companies are going to bring in who are going to interact with the children," Randy Pines, Teamsters Union representative, says.

"Even if a new company comes, they're not going to give the benefits we have now like a good retirement plan, insurance, co-pay, everything," Perez-Naredo says.

Teamsters say the district has been in talks with GCA Services Group, a national company that provides custodial services.

Superintendent Dennis Thompson has a history working with GCA. As the former Rockford, IL superintendent, he's quoted on the company's website saying:

"GCA Services has been the sole provider of our custodial services for the Rockford Public Schools since march of 2005. I am extremely satisfied with the quality of their work. Outsourcing these services has not only improved the overall cleanliness of our schools and facilities, but it is saving us 3.5 million a year."

Teamsters say GCA might save money, but it's at a cost to local custodians.

"It's so hard to get people to work for the amount of money they pay with no retirement or benefits that what they attract is just a revolving door," Pines says.

"You work for your future, and we don't have a future," Perez-Naredo says.

The school district has yet to return our calls for comment.

According to the teamsters, Thompson told them the board would never outsource custodial services.

We still have a lot of questions that we're working to get answered for you right now, like whether current custodians could be hired under a new company.

Trust WINK News to continue following this story.