Moncton-area schools switching to touchless water fountains

About 200 drinking fountains in southeastern New Brunswick schools will be replaced with versions that can fill water bottles touch-free because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The switch, which began last month and is expected to take up to five weeks, is among several physical changes underway in Anglophone East School District schools because of the pandemic.

"Currently, you have to touch the fountain in order to get water out of it in most of our fountains," said district superintendent Gregg Ingersoll.

He said those fountains will be removed and replaced with versions that don't require physical touching to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 or other germs.

The change will mainly affect older schools, district spokesperson Stephanie Patterson wrote in an email, because newer facilities already have the water bottle filling fountains. The district has 38 schools in the Moncton region.

It will cost $182,261.40 to buy and install the water bottle filling fountains, according to the district. Ingersoll said around 50 have already been changed.

The money will come from the education department through a budget for COVID-19 spending, Ingersoll said.

He doesn't expect any other physical changes to schools unless public health implements other rules.

"Once we get the fountains in, we'll be caught up to the current phase, but that can change day-to-day," Ingersoll said.

Other physical changes in schools include installing screens in reception areas and adding hand sanitizer dispensers.

Larger cleaning staff

Ingersoll told the Anglophone East District Education Council on Tuesday that the district has hired 29 additional custodial staff to clean schools during the day.

Each surface touched by a student, like a stairwell railing, is supposed to be cleaned three times per day.

Ingersoll said they found out about the rule in July and there was a rush to hire additional staff. Some existing staff have been shifted from night shifts to day shifts to accommodate the extra cleaning.