HCPS Buys 33K Plexiglass Shields For Teachers, Students

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — The Harford County Board of Education approved a purchase Wednesday of more than $800,000 in plexiglass barriers. They will be used to protect students and teachers when schools begin reopening. Funding comes from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, according to the school system.

Having the shields will offer "one additional level" of support, Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson said. Students will be able to use them in classrooms as well as in the cafeteria, when they may not be wearing masks.

Plexiglass shields will be affixed to desks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which is transmitted mainly through respiratory droplets.

During a virtual meeting Wednesday morning, the school board was briefed by administrators on the logistics.

Harford County Public Schools is ordering 31,471 plexiglass shields for students and 2,298 shields for teacher desks, according to Bobbie Tolston, supervisor of purchasing for the school system.

"They are a very popular item," she said, noting the school system's supply chain relationship made the purchase possible.

Shields are $19.97 each for student desks, totaling $628,475.87; and $70.31 apiece for the teacher desks, which adds up to $161,572.38.

There will be "enough for each classroom with the anticipation of initially 10 per classroom" and another five in case the need expands, Tolston said.

Plexiglass has already been installed in school offices, according to the Harford County Public Schools Continuity of Learning Plan.

Shipping will be $89,150 for the shields, bringing the grand total to $879,198.25, Harford County Public Schools reported.

The cost includes shipment from California to the distributor's warehouse, where the items will be broken down into pallets for each school, Tolston said.

Funding for the shields comes from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief II Fund, which was authorized by the federal government to allow schools to prepare for reopening; address learning loss; and test, repair and upgrade air quality improvements in school buildings, a spokesperson for Harford County Public Schools told Patch. The funds do not have an equitable services requirement.

Shipment is expected to begin the week of Feb. 15, according to Tolston.

The school board unanimously approved the request to purchase the plexiglass shields.

Harford County Public Schools anticipates teachers and staff working in elementary schools will return to buildings by Feb. 19.

Students in elementary school will have the option to return for one-day-a-week of in-person instruction March 1, and others could return March 15.

See Also: 1-Day-A-Week Hybrid Planned For Harford County Public Schools