A Jersey City Board of Education spending log shows where $9,018,472.83 in CARES Act funding has been allocated so far.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
The biggest expenditures to date are to keep clean air circulating throughout the school district’s classrooms, with Induct Industries getting paid $1,355,840.23 for air duct cleaning on August 24th and Trendway Corporation receiving $1,387,196.50 for AeraMax Air Filtration on March 1st of this year.
A related $532,054.50 expense was for having Johnson Business Products and Interiors install AeroMax systems in six prioritized schools on November 30th. The itemized sheet does not specify which schools those were.
The three-page list was released as a communication that was on last night’s Jersey City Board of Education agenda that did not require any formal action from the board.
Furthermore, SHI International Corp received $478,607 for temperature kiosks on October 27th.
There are numerous other less expensive preventative measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus inside schools, including hand sanitizer stands, face masks, face shields, shoe covers, plexiglass and moldings, hand sanitizer wipes, and much more.
Some of the federal relief funds were also spent on shoring up their digital infrastructure as classes went remote last year, as well as on Chromebooks so students can effectively participate from home.
Last Friday, Superintendent of Schools Franklin Walker released the district’s reopening plan, largely indicating that would be following the state’s lead after Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced a vaccine/testing mandate for school employees, effective October 18th.
“The JCPS District’s goal is to provide high-quality instruction and support for our students and their families as we return to full-day in-person learning,” Walker wrote.
“We will keep you informed as we navigate the Covid-19 related health concerns and the Governor’s mandates for educating our students. Your input and patience during this process have been crucial to our decision.”
During this year’s budget season, the Jersey City BOE indicated that they had not been advised how they could use American Rescue Plan dollars and therefore figures from the district have not been released yet.
