ceiling duct work

Eight Nacogdoches ISD campuses have received upgrades to heating and cooling systems that will improve air quality.

The improvements to the heating and cooling units have been paid for with money NISD received from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER, part of the billions of dollars allocated by the U.S. Congress to state education agencies to address the impact of COVID-19 has had and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the nation.

Fredonia, Raguet, Thomas J. Rusk, and Brooks-Quinn-Jones elementaries were all upgraded with new equipment in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The newly-constructed Emeline Carpenter Elementary also received upgrades; its HVAC system was bid-out and ordered before the pandemic began in 2020.

Margie Chumbley Academy for Success and parts of Nacogdoches High School also received the updates. (The ninth-grade center will be updated this summer.)

Work is continuing at Nettie Marshall Academy of Dual Language, Mike Moses Middle School, and McMichael Middle School. Upgrades are also planned for non-campus facilities in the district.

“We’re grateful to have access to this money to make improvements that will aid our ongoing efforts to stem the tide not only of COVID but other airborne contagions that are problematic,” said NISD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo. “Our Plant Services department has worked with vendors to design a plan and get new equipment ordered, delivered, and installed in what can only be described as challenging times in relation to supply chains.

“The improvements will significantly increase the ability of HVAC systems to filter the air that’s circulated in NISD campuses, and the additional filtration will provide better air quality in regards to COVID-19 as well as other airborne contagions that can be spread at schools.”