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In an effort to contribute to the health and safety of our students, employees, parishioners, and guests, a project team was assembled to research air filtration throughout our campus. The team included engineers and experts in the industry of air quality. It is important to mention that our current state was at or above the required standards. We set out to determine a way to improve on that level.

Research included ionization enhancements to our classroom univent system, stand-alone units, UV lights, and various air movement options. After reviewing the options, our Building and Grounds Committee recommended, and our Finance Council approved, a two-fold investment.

First, we have ordered new filters for all HVAC throughout campus. New filters with a MERV rating of 13, as opposed to the current MERV 7, will filter smaller particles. MERV 13 is the highest suggested rating for our equipment. As you may have seen in the stores, filters of this quality are in short supply. These will be installed in our systems in the school, church, Marcy Center, Parish Center, Parish Athletic Facility, and Parish Arts & Activities Center as soon as they are received. The replacement frequency will be analyzed and adjusted after installation.

Second, we are replacing four fans that exhaust the air in the school. The upgrade to variable speed fans increases the cubic feet per minute, or CFMs, while allowing us to increase the draw of fresh air to 30%. This is especially important during the heating season, but will be beneficial year round. The change in fans effectively triples the amount of fresh air mix available and nearly doubles the air exchanges in the school building. The control system allows us to dial up or down the speeds based on occupancy and temperature, thus providing a balance between the air flow and cost to run the system. Work on this project begins on December 9 and should conclude in a week to ten days.

We believe these are solid enhancements based on the equipment we have in our buildings. We appreciate the guidance of the project team and the ideas forwarded by several parishioners. Coupled with the investments in disinfecting, and the cooperation of people following the protocols we have in place, we will continue to provide a safe and healthy environment. Comments or questions can be sent to .