Healthier Schools

SMART and SMACNA have long been advocating for proper ventilation in schools, and their hard work is paying off.

By / Natalie Bruckner

Student health and safety have long been focal points in the education system, and the pandemic has shone a spotlight on one related issue in particular: Many schools are operating outdated and broken HVAC systems that don’t even come close to meeting minimum ventilation standards.

Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—which provides fact-based, nonpartisan information to Congress—estimated that 41% of school districts need to update or replace heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in at least half their schools. In fact, the GAO estimated that 36,000 schools need HVAC updates.

Speak to SMACNA contractors and SMART craftspersons in the industry, and this comes as no surprise.

Labor and management across the country were lobbying for financial aid for schools to update their systems long before the pandemic hit. If there’s one positive to come from COVID-19, it is the greater urgency that is being placed on replacing poorperforming HVAC systems in classrooms.

“Up until this year, we have continuously been out of sight, out of mind, no matter how much we have tried to educate the public on the importance of better ventilation in schools,” says Local 104’s Political Director Rob Stoker. “COVID-19 has brought

“Change like this really couldn’t happen without the partnership we have between labor, management, and our other business and education partners,” says Rob Stoker, political director, Local 104.

with it a greater understanding about the importance of HVAC systems beyond feeling warm or cold. It has pushed ventilation to the fore and shows we have been right. It has certainly put the wind behind our message.”

Stoker is one of many who played an integral role in the California Assembly Bill (AB) 841 that directs state energy efficiency funding to upgrade HVAC systems in public schools, prioritizing schools in underserved communities and those near freeways or industrial facilities. Through the bill, grants will be provided to local educational agencies to reopen schools with functional ventilation systems that are tested, adjusted, and—if necessary or cost effective—repaired, upgraded, or replaced to increase efficiency and performance.

It may have taken years of knocking on doors to get there, but when AB 841 was approved in the final hour by the governor on September 30, 2020, Stoker literally jumped for joy. “Change like this really couldn’t happen without the partnership we have between labor, management, and our other business and education partners,” Stoker says.

He’s right. Duane Davies, CEO of National Air Balance Company (NABCO) and president of California’s chapter of SMACNA; National Energy Management Institute’s (NEMI) Chris Ruch; the team at University of California, Davis; and Local 104 all contributed effort to this bill. Though most were only made aware of their work when the bill was approved, they have been working on improving classroom ventilation and promoting periodic inspection of school ventilation systems for many years.

“We already had legislation proposing periodic inspections of school ventilation systems, but that legislation got stalled because of COVID-19,” Ruch says. Ruch is NEMI’s director of training and sits on ASHRAE’s epidemic taskforce for schools. “When it became apparent early on that airborne transmission was one of the problems of COVID-19, the white paper we created titled “Proposed Ventilation and Energy Efficiency Verification/Repair Program for School Reopening” gained traction. Even if COVID-19 gets solved tomorrow, it is still highly relevant.”

Surprisingly, however, there is still some pushback. “We have engaged with many different schools, and what we found was private schools saw this as an opportunity to show they

are ahead of the curve. Public schools aren’t moving nearly as fast, and some are turning a blind eye, as they don’t want to know how bad things are. Alongside NEMI, NEMIC, SMART, and our contractors, we are now focused on educating school districts about how to access these grants,” explains Davies, who is president of SMACNA California.

Because of the high level of skills and training required to do this work, AB 841 will result in job creation for SMACNA contractors. But the labor shortage poses an immediate problem.

“While there are huge opportunities for labor and management to secure a lot of work hours, there’s just not enough labor right now,” Davies says. “TABB persons are already inundated. Recruitment remains a focus for us and our partners at SMART Local 104.”

This is also a challenge outside of California. On the East Coast, the skill of SMACNA contractors is securing them work in schools, but staffing is a common concern there, too. Josh Monahan, Local 83 member and vice-president of J.E. Monahan Metals, Inc. in Queensbury, New York, explains: “During the pandemic we have been busy on school projects, and lack of staff has been a big concern. We have been working closely with our Local to ensure we have enough humanpower to meet demand.”

This year J.E. Monahan won Phase 3 of the $180-million Albany High School project to retrofit the existing HVAC system. “Only union contractors could bid on the job, and our experience and reputation helped us secure the project,” Monahan says.

Despite the pandemic, the scope of the project hasn’t really changed, as Albany School Board initially planned to install a sophisticated system that allows them to make minor adjustments as required. Operations have also remained somewhat unchanged because, as Monahan explains, “Safety is always our number one priority.”

In New York State, just like in California, the pandemic has highlighted the need to update ventilation in schools. However, New York State officials have yet to investigate this even after 46 teachers from nine schools in Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Labor asking authorities to investigate ventilation across city schools.

Monahan believes it is important now for SMACNA and SMART to stay one step ahead and continue to advocate for the changes that need to be done. “There is no doubt in my mind that the sheet metal industry will continue to be a big part of safety discussions in schools,” he adds. “We work closely with our Local and other contractors on this topic.”

One of those contractors is Gerald Jannicelli, president of Technical Building Services, who says, “Most of our work is in the K-12 market. We have been working right through the pandemic with both service and installation in many different school districts. Every day is different.”

In Saint Paul and Minneapolis, school districts have an indoor air quality department staffed by SMART TAB technicians.

Together, SMACNA and SMART—alongside industry partners—are proving that when it comes to issues related to health in schools, they are ahead of the curve, but they are all in agreement that they cannot take their foot off the gas. ▪

Natalie is an award-winning writer who has worked in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Canada. She has more than 23 years experience as a journalist, editor, and brand builder, specializing in construction and transportation.