Heating and ventilation improvements that have shown to be 99.4% effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 are coming to four additional Ohio County schools.
At its regular meeting on Jan. 25 the Ohio County Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to approve payment of an estimated $100,000 to CMTA Energy Solutions to install needlepoint bipolar ionization HVAC technology at Bridge Street Middle School and Bethlehem, Madison and Ritchie elementary schools. The technology will also be implemented at the Ohio County Board of Education Office, the Ohio County Schools Operations Center and the pool at Wheeling Park High School. Ohio County Schools Treasurer/CSBO, Steve Bieniek said the school system will seek Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funding (ESSERF) for at least a portion of the costs.
Ohio County Schools Administrator of Operations David Crumm informed School Board members that needlepoint bipolar ionization units were installed in 2019 at Elm Grove Elementary School, Middle Creek Elementary School and Wheeling Park High School are 99.4 % effective in combating the spread of virus that resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic. The technology is already scheduled to be implemented at Triadelphia Middle School, Streenrod Elementary School, West Liberty Elementary School, Warwood School, Woodsdale Elementary School, and Wheeling Middle School, and the cost of those improvements is covered by the school system’s $42.2 million bond initiative approved by Ohio County voters in 2018.
Ohio County Schools Superintendent Kimberly Miller said she was pleased the Board of Education approved funding for implementation of the needlepoint bipolar ionization technology for the schools. She said the school system is doing everything it can to do to reasonably protect students and employees.
“Our students need to be in their classrooms with their teachers, and the Board of Education is making additional investments in the buildings to ensure the safety of the students and all Ohio County Schools employees,” Miller said. “We are getting closer each day to a return to normalcy in all of our schools, and I truly appreciate the support and patience of our students, staff members, parents and the community.”
According to CMTA Project Manager Jonathan Gasser, needlepoint bipolar ionization promotes indoor air quality and is effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19. He said the science on past corona viruses revealed that this technology was effective at rendering it harmless at a rate of 99.4 percent. The information from Innovative Bioanalysis found that 99.4 percent of the specific COVID-19 virus was inactivated after 30 minutes, in the air and on surfaces, as a result of needlepoint bipolar ionization.
