Following a general discussion on pending budget matters during its April 9 meeting, the Gloucester County School Board agreed to proceed with a duct cleaning project in Gloucester High School’s D hall, a 1993 addition to the school that sits closest to the GHS stadium. 

Going forward with the project required a $56,000 categorical transfer in the current school budget. The board unanimously agreed to transfer the amount from its instruction category to operations and maintenance to cover the work.

After a warning from division superintendent Walter Clemons that no major work could start at GHS until FY 2021 regardless of funding, board member Randy Burak suggested leasing a heavy-duty air conditioning unit as a temporary fix to air problems that plague D hall in warmer temperatures. 

Assistant superintendent John Hutchinson said that possibility had been explored and was costly. He instead described and recommended a duct and air handler cleaning project recommended by Marine Chemists.

Marine Chemists inspected the area twice in the fall and made its recommendations at the end of the year. “Anytime Marine Chemists has recommended something, we do it,” said Hutchinson. 

The inspection found some microbial growth right off the air handler and on some registers, but no concentrations of mold. It also found some dust buildup and some dampers that were not working.

Kohmar Air Duct Cleaning in Richmond conducted a subsequent inspection over spring break to offer an estimate. The company agreed to clean the duct with a non-allergenic substance and spraying the duct and the air handler with an antimicrobial disinfectant.

The company also recommended cleaning the ceiling tiles below the duct but Hutchinson said it may be less expensive to have them replaced. “We’ll look at them and if they can be easily cleaned that’s what we’ll do, or we will replace them,” he said. D hall contains approximately 40,000 square feet of ceiling tile. 

Hutchinson said that now that the board has funded the project, he was working with Kohmar to schedule the work on weekends and evenings when students are not there and before the weather gets hot.