They pick up the toilet paper unfurled outside the building. They scoop food onto your tray. They scrub the toilets and check your attendance.

They are everywhere. "They" are members of the school’s support staff. A relatively silent bunch of workers who keep the wheels turning in this building.

You see them every day: lunch ladies, janitors, the office ladies, and attendance secretaries. Yet, most of the time, they go somewhat unnoticed.

They are, however, the often underappreciated and somewhat undercompensated men and women who make sure that each and every day of school runs smoothly.

Let’s just say that maybe someone left a huge mess in the bathroom. Does anyone know who is actually cleaning it up? Here is the scoop on several support staffers:

There is that man standing at the end of the hall cleaning up some rancid vomit. Who is he? After school that same man is riding around on the cool "Zamboni" wax machine (that everyone secretly wants to ride). What does his job entail?

Cleaning floors (sweeping, mopping), clearing garbage bins, vacuuming carpeting, clearing tables in the lunch room, emptying trash and recycling bins.

These folks lock and unlock doors at the beginning and end of the day. They strip and wax floors using the "Zamboni" machine and the traditional mop and bucket method. They occasionally clean air-conditioning vents and swab out the pool.

These are just some of the many jobs that maintenance workers like Dave Cromer have in common.

"There are so many things that I do, so it’s pretty hard to just make a short list," says Cromer. "I’ll pretty much do whatever I’m asked.

"We are all just one big family, so I take care of the school and the kids like it’s my house and they’re my family," he says.

Aside from maintenance, students can’t help but notice the crew of "lunch ladies.," food service workers who perform a host of jobs to get breakfast, lunch and snacks out to students.

"Every lady does a different job depending on her skills," says Liz Rockwell. Rockwell is easy to spot; she’ll be the cheerful, lunch card-scanning gal who smiles at everyone.

Every lady takes turns cooking and preparing our breakfasts and lunch. They have a rotating system in which they all take turns all over the kitchen. Whether it be cooking, scooping or scanning, they say each job is as important as the next.

The lunch ladies are very dear to students, but are we always dear to them?

Rockwell says most of the time, but the nutrition policies (which they have no say in) have put a little tension into the relationship.

When it comes to the new foods we are eating at lunch, Rockwell says, "Be open-minded and willing to try new things,W e aren’t changing the menu to make anyone mad; in fact we changed the menu to make everything much healthier."

She also shared a little more lunch-time 411: kids are allowed no more than five food items and no fewer than three. When the cashier takes food off a kid’s tray, it’s not a mean thing, it’s just healthier that way. And, taking two Uncrustables is against the rules! It may not taste good, but it’s better for us. Remember: it’s fuel not food.

We all see clerical types in the main office, the guidance office and, especially, in the attendance office.

The ladies there have an interesting routine. They answer a TON of phone calls all day about where kids will be. Whether kids aren’t coming at all or leaving early, these women are more than happy to help.

Kathy Allred and Cheryl Northway, the full-time attendance workers, both speak very highly of the student body.

"Most of our students are darn good, but sometimes we just have pickle-pan poor sports," say Allred. She encourages kids to try not to be a "pickle-pan."

Last, but definitely not least, are the folks with the radios...the campus monitors. Each is noticeable in his or her own way: Josh Cerveny is one of the biggest guys in the building, Marci Keesee is like everybody’s mom (and a really fast runner as we learned last year) and then there is the one we all know and love....Curtis Bell.

This guy is a walking legend; strutting through the halls searching for ne’er-do-wells.

Even when someone just asks him to spell his name he says, "Curtis Bell. B-E-L-L, ringa-ding-ding." One can’t help but love this guy!

The monitors’ jobs include helping to maintain order and to offer support for administrators and teachers.

Bell says his favorite thing is simply interacting with kids. Whether it’s talking, laughing or fist-pumping along to a rap written about him by a student, this guy is always willing to have a good time.

"Having a fun social element is good, but it should never exclude elements of education," Bell says.

The support staffers working in the background are actually the glue that holds this school together.

Without all of these people, school would be a sad, dirty, disorganized place.