ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Erie County Department of Health has ordered more than 10,600 air filtration systems for every K-12 public and charter classroom in Erie County.

To date, Erie County has invested just under $5.3 million in federal funding for this project, from a grant directed towards COVID-19 alleviation within K-12 schools. Each individual Austin Air System cost $500.

The air filtration units increase ventilation and add better filtration, according to ECDOH Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein.

All school districts and charter schools received their units in May. ECDOH expects air filtration systems to be delivered to private schools during the summer.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz explained that the air purifiers will make school environments healthier and are a critical part of his “back-on-track agenda” to help children recover from the pandemic.

In addition to the air filters, Dr. Burstein suggests “Staying home when ill, seeking testing as appropriate, wearing a mask as recommended, and getting vaccinated and boosted are other key parts of a comprehensive strategy to keep children and school staff healthy, and learning at school. This initiative will help keep the approximate 130,000 k-12 students and school staff in Erie County healthy by reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne contagions.”

The Buffalo Public School District received 2,557 filtration systems. That’s more than any other district in Erie County.

Here’s the breakdown of units distributed by school district:

School DistrictUnits Distributed
Akron CSD112
Alden CSD132
Amherst CSD244
Buffalo City Schools2,557
Cheektowaga CSD179
Cheektowaga-Maryvale UFSD265
Cheektowaga-Sloan UFSD152
Clarence CSD353
Cleveland Hill UFSD118
Depew UFSD149
East Aurora UFSD147
Eden CSD134
Evans-Brant CSD220
Frontier CSD385
Grand Island CSD260
Hamburg CSD277
Holland CSD86
Iroquois CSD202
Kenmore-Tonawanda UFSD600
Lackawanna City Schools162
Lancaster CSD510
North Collins CSD56
Orchard Park CSD488
Springville-Griffith Inst CSD138
Sweet Home CSD272
Tonawanda City School District145
West Seneca CSD540
Williamsville CSD827
Data: Erie County Department of Health
Charter SchoolUnits Distributed
Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School94
Buffalo Collegiate Charter School25
Buffalo United Charter School50
Charter School of Inquiry27
Charter School – Applied Technologies197
Elmwood Village Charter School Days Park38
Elmwood Village Charter School Hertel21
Enterprise Charter School10
Global Concepts Charter School80
Health Sciences Charter School15
Persistence Prep15
South Buffalo Charter School52
Tapestry Charter School102
West Buffalo Charter School43
Western NY Maritime Charter School48
Westminster Community Charter School46
Data: Erie County Department of Health