When the 25,000 students in the Manteca Unified School District return to campus on Aug. 4 they will be among the top 30 percent of schools nationwide that the Centers for Disease Control indicates have created the optimum classroom environment for health when it comes to COVID-19.
Manteca Unified has:
*Spent $2.8 million to buy 1,900 Carrier Opticlean Air Scrubbers for every classroom, learning spaces and offices in the district.
*Installed DEPA-6 PROAIR filtration systems in all school buses with a minimum of 12 air changes per hour.
*Air filters in all HVAC systems in classrooms are cheeked and changed frequently. In addition, each unit is scheduled to turn the fan on an hour before school and an hour after school as an additional measure to purge rooms of air particle contaminants.
*Modernization projects such as at Manteca High and French Camp School have new ultraviolet lighting in locker-room and restrooms as a supplement to help inactivate airborne contamination of COVID-19.
*Electrostatic sprayers have been obtained for every school site to efficiently and rapidly apply disinfectants to surfaces, especially those contaminated with COVID-19. The devices impart an electrostatic charge to the disinfectant spray with the goal of improving the deposition of the droplets onto surfaces and promoting the efficient use of the disinfectant.
A study released by the CDC noted 70 percent of school districts nationwide have only pursued “low-cost” steps to increase student health and safety in dealing with COVID-19.
Those steps include relocating activities outdoors, opening doors and windows, and inspecting and upgrading existing HVAC systems.
The remaining 30 percent of school districts installed high-efficiency particulate air-filtration systems in high risk areas.
“MUSD leadership analyzed every facet of our organization to develop a comprehensive safety strategy designed to create a healthier environment for students and staff, wherein air quality was made a priority,” said Victoria Brunn, Chief Business and Information Officer.
It is why, Brunn noted, the district is not requiring masks when students return to school as some districts plan to with the timing of the largest COVID surge involving the subvariant BA.5 hitting as the new academic year starts.
The air scrubbers also are effective at reducing airborne germs that cause other illnesses such as the flu and colds.
In addition, given the Central Valley bears the brunt of smoke from wildfires in the Sierra, Coastal Range and Cascades as well as grass fires within the valley they will further protect the district’s 25,000 students and 2,500 staff members against smoke-related breathing issues.
They also help cleanse classroom air of of routine air pollutants that plague the San Josquin Valley.
Between reductions in absences related to colds and flu as well as wildfire issues, the investment in the air quality and air scrubbing equipment will benefit the health of students and staff beyond dealing with the pandemic.
The cornerstone of that effort are the 1,900 Carrier OptiClean Air Scrubber units.
The air scrubber units function as a portable air filtration system that meets and exceeds the American Society of Heating, Ventilation, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard for the ventilation of healthcare facilities which use hospital-grade, high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to further improve indoor air quality.
The filtration unit works by pulling air from the surrounding area which passes through a series of filters to remove many contaminants. The cleaner, fresher air is then recirculated back into the room allowing up to 6 air changes per hour versus the industry recommended 2 changes per hour.
The weak condition of HVAC and existing air filtration systems in many schools was noted before the pandemic in a 2020 student by the Government Accountability office.
At that time, 41 percent of the districts needed to update or replace HVAC units in at least half of their school campuses. That is roughly 36,000 schools nationwide.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
