35,000 masks, additional PPE purchased ahead of fall semester at Madison County Schools

Ridgeland, Miss. (WLBT) -The Madison County School District is working to make sure each campus is equipped with necessary Personal Protective Equipment ahead of the new school year.

Austin Brown, coordinator of alternative education and district reporting, said the district has been working through the summer to grow its supply of PPE and began distributing those items to MCSD campuses this week.

The PPE the district purchased includes more than 35,000 disposable masks for children and adults, 4,000 face shields, 15,000 bottles of disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and 260 gallons of disinfectant spray concentrate.

The disinfectant spray will go a long way, Brown said 1 gallon can produce 200 bottles.

“We basically gave them a per-pupil allotment to start the year,” Brown said. “We have a resupply process throughout the year so when they run down, they can call us, and we can get them a little bit more.”

In addition to those supplies, the district has also purchased portable and handheld disinfectant machines.

Jay Harrison, director of facilities and maintenance, said the portable machine will be used to disinfect larger areas such as restrooms, classrooms, door handles, gyms, cafeterias, and meeting rooms.

Harrison said each campus will have at least two of the handheld machines and they’ll be used on several high-touch areas.

Many parents have expressed concern about sending their children back to school during the pandemic, but Brown assures them the district is doing everything in its power to keep students and staff as safe as possible.

“I totally understand why there is a concern,” Brown said. “I have 2 children myself here in the district, and there’s no way to guarantee that we’re going to be able to stop the spread of COVID-19, but what I would tell any parents and I tell myself this just about every day, thankfully we work for a district that early on committed to providing us the resources to get as much of these supplies that teachers and students are going to need on the frontlines. I strongly feel like, with that commitment, we’re going to be as ready as we can when schools start back. To make schools as safe as possible.”

The Madison County School District will begin with alternating days of on-campus and distance learning on August 6.

A full return for on-campus students is expected to begin September 13.

Click here for more information on reopening guidelines at Madison County Schools.

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