PORT ARTHUR, Texas — The Port Arthur Independent School District has a new tool to clean up the air and hopefully slow the spread of COVID-19 on campuses.
Recently, PAISD officials approved the purchase of 500 air purifiers for their campuses.
The project is funded by a grant provided by a branch of the American Rescue Plan Act and was initiated to reduce airborne contaminants at all facilities.
“COVID adds another red flag to the pollutants in the air because some people believe that it's airborne, so this is another way to help us to try and purify the air in our facilities,” Adrienne Lott, PAISD media communications specialists, said.
School officials are trying to increase the measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Masks are already included as part of the dress code and temperatures are taken at the doors.
“We’re doing everything that we can to help stop the spread of COVID,” Lott said.
Lott said district officials know they cannot control what students and staff do outside the classroom.
“We are taking measures that we can control, so this is an added step to try to keep everyone healthy and in school,” Lott said.
The district spent almost $250,000 on the purifiers. While district officials understand that some parents may not agree with their purchase, they believe it was the right choice in protecting staff and students.
“The goal of the purchase is to improve the air quality overall," Lott said. "The added bonus I believe is helping us to also add one more added measure in our fight to stop the spread of COVID."
Lott said many students and staff are asthmatic. District officials are hoping the new purifiers will especially help those with breathing issues.
“A lot of our students and maybe a great portion of our staff are asthmatic, and so this is going to help out for those who have health challenges where breathing may be a little bit more difficult,” Lott said.
The company supplying the air purifiers said they should be ready for installation soon.