East Brunswick Education Association Calls To Halt Reopening Plan

EAST BRUNSWICK – The East Brunswick Education Association (EBEA) this week called on the school district to halt its reopening plans until a thorough assessment of the HVAC system was completed.

The district has adopted a hybrid model for the upcoming school year which begins on Sep. 8. But the EBEA says reopening is unsafe as the district has failed to evaluate the air quality in buildings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“We’ve told the district from the beginning that if they were able to put together a reopening plan that checked every box on the Department of Education’s Reopening Checklist, then we would be confident we could return to school buildings safely,” EBEA President Dana Zimbicki said in a statement to Patch.

Zimbicki expressed her reservation about the school’s air filtration system. “With less than a week before school opens, we have been told roof top units (RTU’s) have been upgraded to MERV 13 filters, however, we have not been informed as to the current mix of filters in classroom unit ventilators, despite numerous requests,” said Zimbicki.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has recommended MERV 13 filters to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in buildings, said EBEA. During the Parent Forum, the school district revealed they have a mix of both MERV 8 and 13 filters.

EBEA said that MERV 8 do not filter out virus aerosols, and East Brunswick has not yet evaluated what the filtration capacities are for each school building.

“At this point, EBEA believes that opening our school buildings next week is too risky,” said Zimbicki.

The EABA had worked with the school district to come up with the hybrid plan. Zimbicki called the plan “very good” and said it is “probably one of the best in the county and maybe even the State.”

“However, if one area is going to compromise safety, we need to ensure it is addressed,” she said.

At a board of education meeting held on Aug. 20, many teachers, especially those who were immunocompromised, expressed their reservations about coming back to school buildings.

However, superintendent Victor Valeski told Patch that the district is “working with staff and addressing all their concerns."

The EABA said the district has requested until Monday 2 p.m. to provide an update.

“Without the ventilation issue addressed we should go remote until issues can be resolved. Staring remotely does not diminish the quality of the plan, it only says we have found an area that needs improvement and we need more time,” said Zimbicki in her statement.

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com

Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.