COVID funds can help NC schools improve the air students breathe. But are they? | Opinion

The federal government is providing billions of dollars to help schools better circulate and filter their indoor air to prevent the airborne transmission of the COVID virus.

It’s about time. The General Accounting Offices estimates that about one-third of the nation’s more than 100,000 public schools need to upgrade or replace their HVAC systems.

The federal funding is good news for students, teachers, school staff and parents, but it also raises a question about why it took a pandemic to bring attention to the long-term problem of poor air quality in schools. Not only does fresher air improve the health of students, studies have shown that it improves their ability to learn.

The Clean Air Act has reduced outdoor air pollution. Bans on indoor smoking and tests for radon and asbestos have improved indoor air generally, but there is no equivalent national law to ensure that the air in schools is filtered and refreshed to reduce airborne pathogens and levels of carbon dioxide. At a recent workshop sponsored by the National Academies, air quality experts said school buildings should bring in fresh air at a rate of four to six air changes per hour (ACH)). School designs typically aim to provide three air changes per hour, the experts said, but at many schools the level is 1.5 ACH, with older buildings in poor districts circulating even less fresh air.

In North Carolina, Francis Koster, a retired pediatric health care administrator, founded a Kannapolis-based nonprofit, The Pollution Detectives, to advocate for the reduction of carbon dioxide and other contaminants in school air. “According to the EPA, more than half of all schools have indoor pollution that lowers student learning and health,” Koster said. “When people use the word pollution they tend to think of things that are visible, but the biggest threats are usually invisible.”

That concern finally received action when the federal American Rescue Plan provided $122 billion for the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund. Some of that money is intended to pay for improved ventilation and air filtration in schools.

Unfortunately, many school systems are having trouble obtaining or spending the funds because of red tape around infrastructure changes and a convoluted allocation process. There are also problems with HVAC supply lines and finding contractors to make changes.

Linsey Marr, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech who co-chaired the National Academies workshop on indoor air quality, told me “There are a lot of federal funds for schools and not a lot has been used yet,” she said. Some districts are making progress. Brian Schultz, chief of operations for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, said federal funds are being used to improve air quality throughout all district buildings. The changes include HVAC tuneups, duct cleaning, improved exhaust systems and adding air filtration units in regular and mobile classrooms. Wake County schools’ air quality systems are also being well maintained, said spokeswoman Lisa Luten.

As supply lines untangle and funding resources become clearer, more schools will be able to reduce carbon dioxide, viruses and contaminates in their buildings’ air. It’s a simple change that could improve student performance and health. Now the challenge is to get the work done and establish inspections that will ensure that students are not breathing high levels of carbon dioxide or that faulty ventilation is allowing viruses, allergens and mold to build up in the air.

Paula J. Olsiewski of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, participated in the National Academies workshop on schools’ indoor air. She said providing fresh indoor air should be required in all schools. “Why it’s morally acceptable for schools to have poor indoor air quality, I really don’t understand,” she said. “We know we have a big problem.”

Now we have a big solution. All schools need to be part of it.

Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-829-4512, or nbarnett@ newsobserver.com