School-Level Ventilation Improvment Measures

We are pleased to report that before the pandemic, all 14 facilities owned by the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board (BGCDSB) were and continue to be fully mechanically ventilated.  

During the pandemic and based on the advice of the Ministry of Education and local public health officials, BGCDSB was able to modify cleaning priorities, make upgrades to existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, install over 329 HEPA filter units and focus on preventative maintenance measures.

Preventative maintenance measures include: 

• Ongoing inspection of the HVAC units throughout the board
• Retrofits made to HVAC units to support higher levels of filtration (MERV 13 filters)
• Continuous monitoring of building automation systems (BAS)
• Ongoing operational testing/inspection and repairs as needed
• Ongoing review regarding HVAC system checks and preventative maintenance

We have also invested an additional $274,398 in capital funding over the last three (3) years to continue our HVAC unit refresh plan and ensure our HVAC units are in good working order. This information can be found in the reports on our board website. The following chart summarizes the locations and capital-related HVAC unit replacements made over the past three years.