Instructional committee reviews new indoor air quality policy and implementation timeline

The Wallingford Board of Education Instructional Committee discussed a new indoor air quality policy (7230.2) at its Jan. 6 meeting, including the district's current monitoring steps, public transparency plans, and an implementation schedule for HVAC inspections.

Mrs. Latour said the policy documents the steps schools and district buildings must follow to monitor indoor air quality and is intended to make those steps transparent to parents, staff and the public via the district website. She told the committee an item on indoor air quality will appear on the operations agenda next week to report progress.

Mrs. Belizzi described work already completed under the "Tools for Schools" checklists, which were due in December and are posted on the district website with a school-by-school listing. She said the Tools for Schools checklist is an annual requirement and that the next component — an HVAC inspection program covering 20% of schools per year to reach full compliance by 2030 — will be implemented through outside vendors. The transcript records that the district must perform HVAC inspections on a five-year cycle beginning July 1, 2026; staff said the district included funding in the 2025–26 school-year budget to begin that work.

Board member Ms. Versace asked whether the district could structure inspection and reporting language so findings could be reused for HVAC grant applications; staff agreed to follow up with facilities staff (Mister Deptula) before the next meeting. Committee members framed the indoor-air-quality policy as both a statutory compliance item and a transparency measure; the transcript does not record a formal committee vote on final policy language at this meeting.