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Water drinking fountains are likely history
water
Converting drinking fountains to refillable water stations along with hand washing stations was part of the COVID-19 expenditures.

Manteca Unified schools won’t be returning to normal as things were in BC — before COVID — when the mask mandate is finally lifted.

And that from a health perspective will be a good thing.

Manteca Unified is gearing up for a world where COVID goes from being a full-blown pandemic to endemic status. That means transitioning schools to reflect a world living with COVID and eventually to the point where it is in the same general category of annual flu outbreaks.

That “world” will start when the state gives schools the option not to follow a mandate to require staff and students to wear masks.

It is anticipated the state may make such a recommendation as early as Feb. 28. If they do so, county health departments have to concur with the mask option approach with local school boards having the final say.

In acknowledgement of the fact COVID concerns will remain a major issue for years to come as well as a need to make sure the district that is closing in on 25,000 students is fully prepared for emergencies the school board has established the position of Emergency Preparedness and Safety Coordinator.

Dennis Foster has been hired to fill the position.

Foster will develop, manage and maintain school safety plans, emergency response procedures, the district emergency plan, and provide oversight and support to the Workplace Infection Prevention team known as WIP.

The WIP effort is responsible for making sure protocols and such are followed by students, staff, and visitors alike when it comes to COVID-19 precautions.

Foster, as needed, will act as a liaison between the district and various emergency responder agencies. During actual emergencies the superintendent and site principals will still be in charge.

 

District Superintendent Clark Burke indicated it is likely traditional drinking fountains will go the way of old-fashioned blackboards.

The district converted playground and other drinking fountains to water filling stations prior to the return of students in in-person learning in September 2020.
Not only does it eliminate perennial maintenance issues as well as insufficient water flow, but it will reduce the potential for spreading germs.

How students access water on Manteca Unified campuses is the most high-profile change along with portable hospital grade air purifiers in every classroom and areas accessed by students from how schools operated before the pandemic hit.

The less obvious are substantial upgrades to air filters in the heating and air conditioning systems.
The upgrades are expected to have positive impacts in a number of ways.

They are expected to reduce the spread of the flu and common colds — the leading cause of student absences prior to the pandemic.

They also will work to the district’s advantage when the area is impacted by wildfire smoke or bad air quality.

In all likelihood students will be able to breath cleaner air in the classrooms than they would at their own homes under those conditions.

 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com