Keeping Manatee schools free of COVID-19 is a ‘team effort,’ district says. Here’s how
Custodians at the School District of Manatee County know they can’t defeat COVID-19 alone. As students prepare to begin classes next week, it’s going to take a “team effort” to keep everyone safe.
“We’re looking at this as a total team effort here in this organization. There’s no way we can provide enough custodial staff to wipe every door and every desk every minute of the day,” Todd Henson, the district’s director of maintenance and operations, said at a Monday morning press conference. “We’re as prepared as we can be with the resources we have.”
Everyone from teachers to students to parents are asked to participate in the district’s plant to prevent COVID-19 exposure.
By the end of the week, the district plans to stock every classroom with three key supplies to kill the virus — a gallon of hand sanitizer, an EPA-approved disinfectant spray and a bucket of hand wipes. Those supplies will be restocked as needed, according to Henson.
Custodial staff have also been trained over the summer to address the district’s new cleaning methods. One of those tools is a new electrostatic sprayer, which provides an electric charge to the cleaning solution, allowing the spray to evenly cover a surface.
That type of sprayer can effectively clean parts of a school with COVID-19 exposure in about an hour, Henson said. On Tuesday, the School Board of Manatee is set to vote on up to $2.8 million in coronavirus-related expenditures, including cleaning supplies, masks and other protective gear.
Henson also explained that the district is looking into other techniques to limit the spread of COVID-19, such as improved ventilation and floor decals that urge students to remain 6 feet away from one another. Each school’s administration will decide which social distancing techniques to use, Henson said.
Parents are also asked to practice coronavirus-cleaning techniques at home, which may help students get used to the routine at school.
“Covering your face and washing your hands are so important,” Henson said. “We’re asking our parents and members of our community to model these behaviors and enforce them so when the kids come to school, they’re ready to go.”
In the weeks leading up to schools reopening, there have already been several reported incidents of positive COVID-19 cases in Manatee schools.
“Students haven’t been in school since Spring Break. We would hope that when students arrive on the 17th that they know there’s some things that are going to have to be different,” Henson noted. “It’s not going to be like it used to be.”
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 12:14 PM.
