North Sydney High School parents call for school to accept $40k air purifier donation

Parents of a top Sydney public school have forked out $40k to buy air purifiers for classrooms - but it remains to be seen whether the Department of Education is willing to install them.

Parents of a top Sydney public school have forked out $40,000 to buy air purifiers for classrooms - but it remains to be seen whether the Department of Education is willing to install them.

North Sydney Boys Public School students have started the new term without the addition of 40 air purifiers that were paid for by parents in a move they hoped could help limit the spread of the virus.

Talks to have them installed have been ongoing for weeks and reached a head on Monday when a meeting was scheduled between department staff and the P&C committee.

Parents wanted the filters rolled out in all classrooms.

It is understood the meeting resulted in the school resolving to consider accepting the donation, pending further investigations into how they could be managed and maintained.

In an official statement, a department spokeswoman said it “does not encourage P&C’s to purchase their own air purifiers.”

“North Sydney Boys High School’s P&C has purchased air purifiers without the agreement of the school principal and has been advised on a number of occasions that the school has sufficient arrangements in place to meet safety standards,” she said.

“If there is a need to install air purifiers in a school, they will be provided and serviced by the department.

“Any use of purifiers needs to be under the management of the department, as filters will need regular replacement and may need to be disposed of as hazardous material.”

School resumed on Monday.

One parent, who asked not to be named, said parents wanted the filters installed in every classroom at the 915-pupil campus prior to the start of the new school year.

“Our position is there is evidence that air purification is important in the battle against Covid and to reduce the risk of airborne transmission,” she said.

“They’re a complementary protective measure, alongside other measures such as open windows, vaccination, rapid antigen tests and masks.

“All we’ve been saying is we’ve already bought them – we’re not asking them to change the government policy or anything. We’re just trying to do what’s best for the kids.”

Parents say the need for the filters in all classrooms was partly warranted due to the high population of students who travel from across Sydney to attend the selective school. The campus is also home to an autism unit.

Parents dug deep to have the filters installed.

“Many of those students have lost family members to Covid, live in extended families and have older family members living with them and they’re worried about the risk if they bring the virus home,” the parent said.

“Almost everyone travels by at least one bus and train to get to school. This adds to parental concern they’ll have an increased likelihood of contracting the virus and transmitting it unwittingly at school.

“Kids’ safety should come number one.”

The Department of Education said some schools in NSW have been supplied with air purifiers following a ventilation audit of 2200 public schools last year.

To date, the department has issued about 10,000 air purifiers for schools as a “supplementary measure to assist schools in common areas”.

The filtration systems purchased by parents are the same model procured by the Victorian Government for its rollout of air filters in classrooms.

North Sydney Boys is not the only school where parents have taken air ventilation into their own hands with parent donations also offered to Balmain Public School last year.