East Brunswick Schools Delay Release Of Report On HVAC System
EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The report on East Brunswick School District’s ventilation system, which was to release on Wednesday, has been delayed yet again.
The district has hired a private environmental company, Environmental Design Inc. (EDI), to certify the district’s ventilation system. Once released, the report will be shared with the East Brunswick Education Association (EBEA) for evaluation.
“Once we have the report in hand, it will be sent to our environmental specialist, who will then independently review it for us,” Dana Zambicki, President, EBEA told Patch on Wednesday.
When contacted on Thursday, school Superintendent Victor Valeski told Patch the district was “reviewing a draft report later today.”
The district did not indicate when they plan on releasing the report.
In August, the EBEA called on the school district to halt all reopening plans until a thorough assessment of the HVAC system was completed. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has recommended MERV 13 filters to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in buildings. But most schools in the district have a mix of both MERV 8 and 13 filters. The EBEA said MERV 8 do not filter out virus aerosols.
The district began its school year on Sep. 8 with the hybrid model. The EBEA had said reopening was unsafe as the district had failed to evaluate the air quality in buildings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Read More Here: East Brunswick Education Association Calls To Halt Reopening Plan
At a Board of Education meeting held on Aug. 20, many teachers, especially those who were immunocompromised, expressed concern about coming back to school buildings.
Read More Here: East Brunswick Teachers Raise Concerns With Board Of Education
In an earlier interview with Patch, Valeski said the district was “ready” to safely bring back students and teachers to school buildings.
Read More Here: East Brunswick Adopts Hybrid Model This School Year
Since reopening, the school reported several “close contacts” with COVID-19. Earlier this week, 10 teachers and 27 students were quarantined after coming in “close contact” with an infected person. None of the transmissions took place inside the building.
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This article originally appeared on the East Brunswick Patch
