Ravenna City Schools HVAC Project

Ravenna School District to Combine Federal COVID Grants and Permanent Improvement Funds to Make Significant Updates

Ravenna School District has the opportunity to dramatically improve its classrooms and learning environments throughout the district, made possible through the combination of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) and Permanent Improvement (PI) funds.  The district aims to have central AC, heat, air purification, and air filtration in every
classroom in every building, in addition to other improvement projects.

On March 27, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, authorizing $2.2 trillion in federal economic aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The act includes a number of funding streams to support the education community’s response to the public health emergency.  One of the funding streams, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER), was awarded to schools and districts based on the percent of total Title I funds each entity receives.  Because of these funds, the district has the opportunity to make long overdue, substantial upgrades to its buildings. These upgrades include a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) project, which will place air conditioning, heat, air purification, and air filtration in every classroom throughout the district. Ultimately, the completion of this project will mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and other flu and airborne diseases, in addition to creating a more comfortable learning environment in buildings that range from 70 to 100 years old. However the ESSER money is not sufficient to cover the entire budget of this project. Permanent Improvement (PI) funds will complete the funding necessary for the HVAC improvements, making the project possible, and will also help with other improvement projects to come. Without PI money, this project would not be possible.

“Having access to both ESSER and PI funds allows us to widen our lens to look more comprehensively at what the students need to be successful,” said Superintendent Dr. Laura Hebert. “Rather than going through the expense and scope of building all new buildings, we can better use our resources to make long lasting improvements to these buildings that will benefit students now and in the future.”