LYNN — Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler plans to give teachers and staff from the district’s 10 oldest schools the option to work remotely, based on a report that showed air ventilation systems were blocked off in those buildings.
Lynn Public School officials have been waiting for the findings of the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) report as the district plans to assess whether it’s safe for students to return to school for in-person learning, as part of a hybrid model, later in the school year.
All students are currently learning remotely, but teachers have been required to teach in school buildings since classes resumed this fall, as part of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the school district and the Lynn Teachers Union.
To resolve the issue in the short term, Mayor Thomas M. McGee told the School Committee Thursday night that the Inspectional Services Department has purchased portable air purifiers, which will be placed in every classroom, gymnasium and cafeteria within those 10 schools beginning this weekend.
While Tutwiler said it was good news that the contracted engineering firm has made a recommendation for a short-term solution — in terms of using those portable air purifiers coupled with open windows to create fresh air within those buildings — he said he was “disappointed” with how long it took for those findings, which show a lack of compliance with building code, to be shared.
“We also have a scenario where there’s a recommendation for a safe scenario,” said Tutwiler. “What about today? What about yesterday? What about the past three weeks that my professional colleagues have been in buildings? That upsets me.
“And so I think the only conscionable thing to do until those filters are in the room and that system is set up is to revisit the MOA with the unions and make work in (those) buildings optional.”
McGee said the HVAC report showed what city and school officials already knew, that the mechanical ventilation systems in Aborn, Brickett, Cobbet, Drewicz, Fecteau-Leary, Fallon, Lincoln-Thomson, Tracy, Pickering, and Washington S.T.E.M. are closed off.
McGee said the city decided to block those ventilation systems in the 1970s during an oil crisis in order to save money by conserving heating fuel. Ultimately, he said the city needs to resolve that decision by reopening, or upgrading, those ventilation systems.
But in the short term, McGee said the portable air purifiers, or electrostatic air filtration systems, have been purchased from GreenTech Environmental with Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding.
McGee said other communities are interested in using portable air purifiers in their school buildings that lack HVAC systems.
New Bedford has already purchased 500-600 air purifiers for six buildings, Tutwiler added, noting that he spoke with the superintendent, who told him the devices are working well so far — students have already returned for in-person learning in New Bedford, which, unlike Lynn, is not a high-risk community.
McGee said the portable air filtration equipment will be installed by early next week, which will lead to a larger conversation among city and school officials about how to permanently resolve the ventilation problems in those buildings.
Although the city was aware of closed-off ventilation systems within those school buildings, McGee said there was no indication before the pandemic and subsequent HVAC report that building code was not being met in those schools.
“The silver lining in all of it is this probably was something that should have been done over the past several decades,” said McGee.
The condition of school buildings has been a long-standing issue, McGee said, noting that those poor conditions have prompted the city to get in the state pipeline for beginning to build new schools. While the city can’t afford to replace all of its outdated school buildings, he said there’s a need to “keep our eyes on the prize.”
“We continue to face challenges,” said McGee. “A lot of school districts are dealing with the same things, but only a handful are dealing with 17,000 students in 26 buildings.”
The full HVAC report will be presented and discussed at the next School Committee meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29.
