Published on August 21, 2020
On Tuesday, Aug.t 18, 2020 the School Board voted unanimously in favor of reopening all three schools under a hybrid model. The School Board requested a delay of the vote during an earlier meeting on Aug. 11 after concerns over the school buildings' ventilation systems were raised in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeking further assurance, the School Board asked the administration to contact experts in both the medical field and the heating, ventilation, and air condition field for their opinions.
The physician for the Cape Elizabeth School Department, Smita Sonti, MD, concluded in a letter to the board that after reviewing numerous articles related to schools reopening across the country and globally; holding conversations with fellow school physicians and other medical providers within the community; and examining the data provided by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, that "A model of hybrid learning this fall that allows students to return to school in some capacity in the setting of low community transmission seems to be a reasonable approach at this time." Sonti, who was in attendance at the Aug. 18 videoconference meeting, reported that the top three safety measures a school should utilize to combat the coronavirus are:
- Universal wearing of face masks.
- Hand hygiene.
- Social distancing.
Screening students and staff, disinfecting common surfaces, and increasing ventilation of outdoor air, are additional safety guidelines schools are asked to follow. Sonti stated that with regard to ventilation, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention offers very limited guidance beyond increasing outdoor ventilation and opening windows and doors. Schools can mitigate the risks associated with older ventilation systems by strictly enforcing all the other safety measures and guidelines.
Director of Facilities and Transportation, Perry Schwarz informed the board that following last week's meeting in which he reported that the high school hallways did not have ventilation, he reviewed the building blueprints and discovered an abandoned exhaust system. Schwarz engaged a contractor who was able to repair most of the old system. With the exhaust system in operation, internal air within the high school hallways can be ejected through the building's roof. Although not considered an energy-efficient system, it does greatly improve the ventilation concerns associated with the coronavirus.
Furthermore, Schwarz reported that the occupancy sensors installed within all the schools will be temporarily bypassed. Under normal conditions, these sensors turn off ventilation within individual rooms when they are not occupied. By turning off the sensors, Schwarz is able to schedule a purge of internal air at the beginning and ending of each school day prior to anyone's arrival. In addition, Schwarz and building principals have agreed to open all doors and windows during the fall season. Schwarz stated that these changes will offer the schools "air quality that is better than it's ever been before."
All three principals provided the board with plans to conduct classes in outdoor spaces to the extent weather permits. High school principal Jeff Shedd added that two large tents have been purchased and will allow high school students to continue with outdoor classes in the event of inclement weather. Director of Technology Noel Harroff shared that he is in the process of extending the Wi-Fi capabilities at all schools so that staff and students will have access while outdoors.