SYDNEY, N.S. — All ventilation systems are in working order in Cape Breton and Strait Regional Centres for Education schools.
According to ventilation reporting summaries, recently made available for public viewing online, all schools in both regions had their ventilation systems checked before the first day of school on Sept. 8. The report also indicates all ventilation systems are "operating as intended" and maintenance has been completed at all schools.
Only one repair is indicated on either report: the replacement of a one-variable speed drive at Strait Area Educational Recreation Centre (SAERC) on Sept. 10.
The date on the Strait Regional summary was dated Jan. 28. It is believed the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education's (CB-VRCE) summary went live online last week as well.
NOT DETAILED ENOUGH
Posting the reports online came after the Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education group and the provincial teachers' union called on the Department of Education and Minister Zach Churchill to release data related to air quality in schools, as reported by Saltwire Network.
This call came after an AllNovaSoctia freedom of information request in December, asking for information about recent air quality testing at schools, uncovered there was nothing indicating testing like that had ever been done.
Spokesperson for the parent group Lisa Bond, a mother of two who lives in Florence, said the online reports don't provide enough information.
"The list is not really reassuring, because we know that many of the systems are so old, they are not required to meet standards. We don't trust "working as intended," Bond said during an interview Thursday evening.
"We also have concerns about a lack of air quality testing. These systems could be pushing dirty, dusting, mouldy air. And without a true quality test of the airflow and the air quality, we don't know if the systems are currently doing more harm than good."
EXTRA CHECKS DURING PANDEMIC
Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education spokesperson Heather Calder said their operations department "has always followed a regular schedule in relation to the operation and maintenance of ventilation systems" even if details weren't available online before.
However, due to the pandemic, there have been some increased measures.
"Following the ‘Back to School Plan’ and the direction of Public Health, the CB-VRCE implemented a layered response to COVID-19," Calder said in an email Thursday afternoon.
"Ventilation system checks are part of the response and were one of several public health safety measures that contributed to a successful first semester with our students’ learning in-class and in-person."
Strait Regional spokesperson Deanna Gillis also confirmed there are additional checks to the air ventilation systems in schools as a COVID-19 health protection measure.
"In the SRCE, the review (in the fall) included windows, filter maintenance, lubrication and electrical and controls," Gillis said, also in an email.
"The majority of the work performed as a result of this review was regular preventative maintenance tasks that would be due or coming due shortly. We are currently in the process of conducting a second check of all ventilation systems."
PASSIVE SYSTEM CONCERNS
According to the ventilation reporting summaries, there are either active or passive ventilation systems in schools. Passive ventilation systems are those which don't include mechanical ventilation systems and use open doors, windows, fans as ways to keep airflow moving.
Bond said Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education are concerned with the number of schools still using passive ventilation, which are mostly in rural areas.
In the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education, there are four schools in use and one closed with passive ventilation systems out of 38 schools. In the Strait Regional Centre for Education, there is one out of 19 schools, which isn't in Cape Breton.
ACROSS THE PROVINCE
The Department of Education and Early Learning confirmed all schools across the province, in both the centres for education and Centre scholaire acadien provincial, are currently doing their second set of air ventilation tests. In total, three will be done this year.
Another measure added this year to ensure good air ventilation is a 24-hour-a-day repair service to ensure repairs are done quickly.
The extra checks and day-night repair service are being provided through the $2.7 million in funding the province announced they would be providing in December to keep students healthy during the pandemic.
"These checks are over and above annual maintenance ... School ventilation system checks are in line with recommendations in recent guidance released by the Public Health Agency of Canada." spokesperson Violet MacLeod said via email.
"The guidance says that increased ventilation, through opening windows, the use of heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) systems, is an additional step that can support other recommended public health measures, like proper mask wearing and hand hygiene. This reaffirms Nova Scotia’s layered approach to COVID in schools."
Bond said the parents' group is questioning "the maintenance done before Sept. 8, as we are hearing differently from within the schools" and believes the publicly available reporting is "incomplete and lacking details."
"This is not what the families in Nova Scotia's public schools expected or deserved. Couple this with the persisting lead concerns, and no information as to next steps on that issue, and it seems COVID has shone a very bright light on serious neglect in these incredibly important buildings."
Nicole Sullivan is an immigration/diversity and education reporter for the Cape Breton Post.
