North Adams Public Schools receive $7,000 grant for PPE, thermographic camera
By Francesca Paris
The Berkshire Eagle
January 6, 2021
NORTH ADAMS — North Adams Public Schools has purchased thousands of masks and gloves with a $7,000 grant from the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association.
The association, which is the city's insurance provider, gave North Adams a risk management grant last fall to cover COVID-19-related costs and to help prevent losses because of property damage.
Schools Business Administrator Carrie Burnett announced the grant at a school committee meeting Tuesday.
Burnett told The Eagle that $5,000 went toward a bulk purchase of personal protective equipment, which included 4,000 child- and adult-size masks, 15 cases of N95 masks and 10,000 gloves of various sizes.
The remainder of the grant went to a thermographic camera that the district will use to increase energy efficiency by finding problem spots in old school buildings.
"It can detect heat loss in and around doors and windows, [and] detect potential steam leaks in walls and under [the] floor," Burnett said. "It can also be used to detect roof leaks."
Francesca Paris can be reached at fparis@berkshireeagle.com and 510-207-2535.