School districts prepare for start of the school year by stocking up on cleaning supplies, PPE
Courtesy of Joseph Orr
School districts throughout Washington and Greene counties have purchased cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment as children prepare to head back into the classroom over the next few weeks. Here are some of the cleaning supplies used by Jefferson-Morgan School District.
One of the electrostatic sprayers Jefferson-Morgan School District has purchased to help sanitize the school buildings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jefferson-Morgan bought a supply of disposable gloves.
School districts, including Jefferson-Morgan, stocked up on hand sanitizer for use by children and staff.
Bottles of hand sanitizer that will be used in the Jefferson-Morgan School District.
Hand sanitizer purchased by Jefferson-Morgan School District in preparation for the start of the school year
Water fountains will no longer be used, so Jefferson-Morgan School District purchased caps to cover the fountain.
Jefferson-Morgan purchased, made, and installed signage to remind students about social distancing rules.
Hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed throughout the schools in the Jefferson-Morgan School District.
Joseph Orr is a popular man these days.
The superintendent of Jefferson-Morgan School District in Greene County has been inundated with emails and phone calls from medical and cleaning supply vendors in recent weeks.
“Every day I receive at least 30 emails and countless sales calls from vendors who want to sell me what they think our district needs,” said Orr.
The district has made plans to open the school year under a hybrid plan, and to adhere to state health guidelines, it has spent large sums of money to purchase personal protective equipment, along with cleaning and sanitizing products.
Among those purchases: face masks and face shields, gloves, scanning thermometers, sneeze/cough shields, cleaning wipes, disinfecting sprays, ultraviolet light sanitizing devices, hand-held and backpack sprayers for sanitizing sprays, and safety signs.
“It has been a huge undertaking. There have been several grants that have come out to help defer those costs, but those funds have already been surpassed by the purchases, especially if you add in the cost of purchasing devices, connectivity and support for online instruction as well as any associated subscription and tuition costs, whether it be for a district’s own online program, the state’s, or a private provider,” said Orr.
School districts throughout the region are faced with those same purchasing issues as they move ahead with planning how and when to reopen.
It’s an unprecedented and formidable shopping venture, superintendents say.
Said Orr, “Our Greene County superintendents, as well as our Intermediate Unit 1 superintendents and the Intermediate Unit staff, have been wonderful in working together to support each other and make recommendations as to what works and what they are doing as to available resources.”
Meanwhile, a study by the AASA, the School Superintendents Association, show that the changing list of health guidelines will require school districts across the United States to collectively spend close to $25 billion on PPE and cleaning supplies.
So, school administrators, who have not ever had to venture into the medical supply marketplace now find themselves shopping for sturdy, child-sized masks at a reasonable price. And thermometers. And plexiglass shields.
Peters Township School District is among districts that has reduced class sizes, expanded online learning, and revised bus routes to start the school year. But it comes at a price.
For transportation, the district has spent $17,000 for masks, shields, sanitizing wipes, gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfectant for school buses. The district also purchased nine thermographic network cameras at a cost of $55,000, and 35 non-contact infrared thermometers for $3,000.
In general, Peters has spent more than $125,000 in soap and sanitizing materials, desk sanitizing sprays and wipes, masks, gloves, new hand sanitizer stands, battery-powered sprayers, and plexiglass for close proximity areas and offices.
“Generally, in the schools we have masks available in the nurse’s office. Each classroom has a bottle of disinfecting spray and wipes to clean desks throughout the day, and hand-sanitizer bottles are available in all classrooms,” said Shelly Belcher, communications coordinator for the district.
The district also purchased communicator masks – the masks that have clear openings so students can see the lip movements of teachers – for staff members. The district also incurred expenses for technology devices and its online learning program.
Belcher said she was heartened by parents’ involvement – a group of parents recently donated about 1,400 masks they sewed for students.
“They wanted to make sure that all students had access to the fun, colorful – but still safe – masks to help with the transition. I love big acts of kindness like that,” said Belcher.
There is a chance that because the pandemic was declared a national emergency the Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse districts for PPE equipment and cleaning costs.
But in the meantime, states and school districts are on their own.
Pennsylvania Department of Health spokesman Nate Wardle said school districts in need of PPE should work to determine the best source for supplies. There are grants available to assist districts with the added expenses of PPE and cleaning supplies.
Southeastern Greene School District, for example, received the COVID-19 School Health and Safety Grant from the Pennsylvania Commission On Crime and Delinquency for $143,688. The district is using the money for PPE and cleaning supplies.
Wardle said the state set up a business to business portal where school districts can purchase PPE directly from suppliers. Districts that want to purchase PPE from the department can request it from the county’s emergency management agency, Wardle said.
“Those requests then come to PEMA, who will work with the Department of Health to see if the entity is among those that are receiving assistance in obtaining PPE,” Wardle said in an email. “PEMA and the Department of Health are currently working with the Department of State to provide PPE to the county election bureaus and offices for the November election, as well as working with the Department of Education to provide PPE to school districts if needed to support their reopening plans.”
Burgettstown School District is using its share of the state’s Safe and Healthy Schools funding to provide supplies and PPE.
“I only hope we have enough to last as long as it is needed,” said Superintendent James Walsh.
Trinity Area School District has spent about $300,000 for PPE and other supplies so far, and an additional $55,000 for HVAC filter upgrades.
Dr. Cyril Walther, superintendent of Avella Area School District, said the school district “is being bombarded by sales calls and emails” as it prepares for the start of school.
The district is asking students to bring their own clean face mask to school every day. The district will provide masks for students who forgot theirs, or students who may not have a mask to wear. Masks will also be available for students when they enter the school bus if they forgot their own.
Walther said the district doesn’t yet have a dollar amount of what it will spend this year on cleaning supplies and PPE.
“However, it will be significant,” said Walther. “It will partly depend on how we are allowed to conduct education for our students. If we are forced into a remote learning model, then we will use less supplies. If we are actually in our buildings, we will use considerably more supplies and labor to keep everyone safe. Also, if we would happen to have a case or cases this school year, the amount of resources used will also increase.”