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SFUSD says ventilation work is underway; portable air cleaners deployed but some auditoriums won’t be ready by Aug. 16
Summary
Facilities staff told the board they have inventory data on operable windows, replaced or upgraded filters, deployed several hundred portable air cleaners and are requesting additional funds, but five auditoriums and one gymnasium remain unsuitable for full assemblies before winter remediation.
Facilities staff told the Board of Education that mechanical and portable ventilation improvements were a top summer priority but that some spaces remain constrained.
Chief Kamana Roffin said the district submitted mechanical ventilation worksheets to the Department of Public Health and has followed a rule of thumb to ensure multi‑occupancy spaces have at least one of these strategies: operable windows, functioning mechanical ventilation or portable air cleaners. She said some sites may combine two or all three strategies depending on the space.
On readiness, Roffin said there are a few exceptions: five auditoriums and one gymnasium "that will not be ready on August 16 for normal use," describing those spaces as having freestanding or aging mechanical ventilation systems that need more attention and that fixes for most sites could extend into winter break. She also said the district is hopeful it will make quick progress at particular locations.
The district reported deploying portable air cleaners to classrooms and offices where operable windows are not present and is procuring additional units. Facilities staff stated they have "now deployed about or a little over 500, to school sites" and will present further funding requests and contracts to the board to add several hundred more.
Monitoring: facilities said CO2 monitors are part of the facilities division inventory and can be used by facilities teams to assess airflow when a problem is suspected, but they have not been broadly assigned to school sites due to resource constraints and the absence of a DPH‑mandated airflow standard. Staff said they will make more operational data public via a site dashboard showing operable windows, portable air cleaner assignments and mechanical ventilation condition.
Next steps: staff will continue repairs, pursue funding and return to board committees with monitoring data and an installation plan for additional portable filtration and modernization projects.
