Columbia Board of Education approves $1.2 million air purifier contract

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education moved to improve COVID-19 safety measures at its meeting Monday night.

One of the measures the BOE approved was the purchase of air purifiers for classrooms.

According to board documents, the cost of the "ionization devices" is about $1.2 million. The cost will be covered by the Facilities and Construction Services operating fund along with CARES Act funding from the county.

The board approved to purchase 168 portable units, 1,399 small fixed units and 31 large fixed units at a total of $1,211,296.00.

Officials says they'll start installation as soon as possible.

The units have about a five year lifespan and not only will help with COVID-19 but also things like asthma and seasonal allergies.

CPS will have a purifier installed in every classroom and each nursing office.

The district evaluated eight different technologies to improve the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). These were filtered down to one to be field tested at two CPS facilities.

The technology that was identified is known as bi-polar air ionization.

Two types of systems were identified for testing and deployment: A mobile ‘plug-and-play’ unit, and, a hard-install unit.

The 14-day case rate per 10,000 people living in the Columbia Public Schools' attendance area continued to go up since the district originally went online.

Since then, the rate hit an all-time high of 111.7 cases per 10,000 people on Nov. 23. It has since gone down and hit 94.1 on Sunday.

The superintendent also said the district is changing quarantine policies, mainly impacting workers in the district. Teachers are able to return on day 11 after exposure but must wear a mask and social distance. There are some exceptions like coaches and directors.

Watch ABC 17 News This Morning at 6 a.m. for a live report.