Hidden hero and weekend warrior battles SHS maintenance repairs for 10 years

Around 7 a.m., maintenance worker Robert Delfino arrives at the SHS maintenance office from his home in San Jose. Before work orders beckon him over the walkie talkie, he slowly wakes up by sipping his coffee in front of the computer and reads the newspaper. At 8 a.m., he begins rolling down the hall in a golf cart, good-naturedly dodging students who clog the hallway.

Delfino, who is also the weekend maintenance supervisor, has worked at the school for 10 years, completing various work orders around campus at the direction of maintenance supervisor Brian Moran on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. On the weekends, he takes on the role of supervising a crew of jailed inmates doing community service for crimes they’ve committed — usually convicted drunk drivers from the Santa Clara County. This program is coordinated in conjunction with the sheriff department’s work program.

“Students probably think that magically, on Mondays, the campus is cleaned up, but it's the inmates that are cleaning up on the weekend, and they do a heck of a job,” Delfino said. “Without that program, we would be buried in garbage and leaves.”

While small groups of inmates complete tasks like emptying and refreshing the garbage cans with new liners, weeding the grounds and leaf-blowing debris into piles, Delfino reassigns and buses them throughout campus. In between, he organizes supplies with people who rent campus facilities, completes basic maintenance repair jobs and helps with stage set-up in the McAfee Center.

“My job is to make sure that all of the event-runners are happy and have everything they need,” Delfino said. “They feed us pretty well when they’re here, too. We will work for food.”

During the work week, students often see Delfino coasting through the halls on a golf cart, which he uses to carry tools and supplies. When students ask him how fast the cart can drive, Delfino jokes that “it would be a lot more fun if it was on a golf course.”

With 40 acres of school property to take care of and only two full-time maintenance workers (along with two groundskeepers and seven custodians), Delfino said the school keeps them hopping, especially with more “interesting” tasks such as climbing on the roofs to replace air conditioner filters or removing and unclogging urinals.

“We stay busy, and like I always say: They break it, we fix it,” Delfino said.

Delfino, a Daly City native, moved to Sunnyvale when he was 10, shortly after one of his brothers passed away. He went to elementary, middle and high schools within streets of each other and graduated from Peterson High School in Sunnyvale.

As the oldest of five brothers, Delfino was the “designated babysitter” of the family. Always somewhat handy, he would often fix bikes and putter with everyday machines, even fashioning a mini-bike out of lawnmower parts.

Before working for SHS, Delfino was self-employed and worked with one of his brothers in tree maintenance service. In 2008, a friend called to ask if he could fill a temporary six-week position in maintenance while the colleague underwent knee surgery. Six weeks turned into six months when Delfino’s predecessor also received medical attention for his heart. Soon after, Delfino committed to the change and was hired permanently for the weekend crew.

Delfino, now 69, has stayed on the staff now 11 years later.

“After I turned 50 years old, it was getting harder to climb the trees and do what I had to do, so when this came along it was almost like a Godsend,” Delfino said. “I used to have calloused hands, but now I tell everyone I have ‘girl hands’ because I don't have to work as hard as I did then,” he jokingly added.

Delfino said he enjoys the excitement of the campus, and he almost wishes that he had begun working at SHS 20 years before.

“Things work out, and I am very happy to have gotten this job,” Delfino said. “I feel like I’m in high school again.”

Whenever he becomes momentarily frustrated with students — for example, when they walk into bathrooms under repair — Delfino said he reflects back to when he was a teenager to keep his cool.

“The kids here are great; they're very respectful,” Delfino said. “This is a great school, and I wish I could have gone to school here.”

Delfino was married for 20 years but has been divorced for 15 years and lives alone in San Jose. His son David Joseph Delfino, 32, lives in Texas and has encouraged Delfino to move there, but he prefers to make the occasional trip, saying that if he had grandchildren he would visit more often.

Delfino is at or beyond retirement age but said he plans to stay in the Bay Area “until they put [him] in the ground” since he enjoys the Bay Area, where all of his friends and most of his family live.

Although the school golf cart is convenient for moving tools and equipment, Delfino prefers the golf green over the campus halls.

When he is not golfing or taking care of his two motorcycles, a Harley-Davidson and a Yamaha, Delfino enjoys bowling and indoor go-karting at K-1 Speed in Santa Clara, which he recommends, describing the experience as “terrifying, but always a kick.” Sometimes he even snags a date, but he said those “are few and far between.”

Until he retires, Delfino is content with his daily life maintaining the campus.

“I see that the kids are here seven days a week, and I know they love it here and I enjoy seeing that,” Delfino said. “The kids are good, and watching the young kids do what they do keeps me energized, for sure.”