Maintenance and engineering managers responsible for improving the indoor air quality of the nation’s K-12 schools during a pandemic faced a daunting task, and they were largely on their own, given the uncharted nature of updating systems, processes and equipment to prevent the spread of the coronavirus with little guidance. How did they fare?
The most-frequently cited challenge to implementing protective air quality measures at schools was school buildings were not designed to support the strategies that were being recommended, according to The Construction Specifier. The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council with technical support from ASHRAE, released survey results from school districts across the country, detailing measures they have taken to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in school buildings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, only two-thirds of respondents were regularly monitoring IAQ before the pandemic, indicating providing time, staff, and funding for regular monitoring and data collection has not been a priority for many districts in the past. Read the full report here.
Dan Hounsell is Senior Editor, Facility Market.
