Framingham School HVAC Upgrades For Coronavirus Could Cost $700K

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham could spend up to $700,000 upgrading ventilation systems at city schools to protect students from coronavirus, according to a memo sent to the school committee recently.

Framingham — and every other district in the state — is in the midst of figuring out how to safely bring students back to class this fall. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is requiring each district to submit a plan for reopening schools by the end of this month.

Coronavirus spreads through droplets in the air, and so proper ventilation is seen as a key way to keep person-to-person transmission low. In a memo written in June by Framingham Public Schools HVAC technician Timothy Rivers, he suggests the district upgrade filters in every building, and install needlepoint bipolar ionization machines in ventilation ducts. The district may have to purchase individual filtration units for classrooms that lack HVAC access, the memo says.

In guidance released on June 25, DESE advised school districts to work from "level service plus" budgets — meaning districts should expect additional expenses on top of what is already budgeted to pay for coronavirus safety measures. The state has already offered about $700 million to school districts, according to DESE, and will send $225 more per-pupil this fall, paid for from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund.

The Framingham School Committee and the Board of Health are meeting in joint session Wednesday to begin discussions on how to reopen schools safely. The district's final plan may come at the July 29 School Committee meeting.