Frankfurt parents are angry because the city is slow to approve the installation of private air filter devices.
When Andreas Göpfert talks about the City Education Authority and the way it works there, you can hear his anger. It has now been a good four months since the lawyer and father applied to the city to be allowed to set up an air filter device in a classroom of the pulling school that his daughter attends. But Andreas Göpfert is still waiting for approval to this day.
“It’s just unbelievable,” says the father. “We just want to offer our children additional protection so that they do not become infected with the coronavirus.” But the city education authority lacks any respect for parents, students and teachers. “Otherwise one would ensure that the promise to set up private devices is implemented as quickly as possible instead of playing games.”
Initially, the city had spoken out against the privately financed air filter devices, but then allowed them in mid-November – under certain conditions. For example, professional cleaning and maintenance must be ensured. The systems organized by support groups or parents’ initiatives must also meet certain standards; Hepa filters H 13 or H 14 are required, an air flow of 1000 cubic meters per hour and the sound level should be able to be set to a maximum of 35 decibels.
It is not yet clear whether the air purification device that Göpfert wanted to purchase meets these criteria. “I cannot understand why it takes so long,” he says. “Here the approval of parent devices is deliberately torpedoed in order to prevent them from being set up contrary to the promise.” He tried to express his displeasure in numerous e-mails to the city education authority. He has also drafted official complaints against municipal employees. All in vain.
After all, eight schools now have approval from the city education authority to set up privately organized air filter devices in their classrooms. These include the Elisabethen- and Lessing-Gymnasium, the Elsa-Brändström-, Francke-, Merian-, Zentgrafen-, Martin-Buber- and the Max-Beckmann-Schule. Education department head Sylvia Weber (SPD) communicated this on request. However, seven schools are still waiting for approval. “In some cases there was uncertainty because it was not clear from the documents submitted whether the systems met our criteria,” says Weber. Then technical data sheets from the manufacturer would have to be requested. Often, however, one would have had to contact the schools again if anything was unclear. “It all takes time.” In the case of the drawing school, for example, the manufacturer had been written to several times in German and English, but had not yet responded.
“But there were also cases when it was clear that the systems requested were too loud for a classroom,” says Weber. “The students still have to understand the teacher.” That is why it is best if the devices can be adjusted in stages or if several, quieter systems are set up, but which together can purify the required amount of air. “The city education authority has made a lot of effort,” said Weber.
The Wöhlerschule is also still waiting for the approval of its air filter devices. 100 of them are unused in the school. “This was bought by a father from our school at his own expense and risk,” says Parents’ Council Susanne Rosenfeld. Schoolchildren, teachers, parents – everyone would be waiting for the systems to finally be set up. “But nobody tells us why the long wait is due. That annoys us.”
Astrid Bissinger from the City Parents’ Council can understand the annoyance of mothers and fathers. “Air is our most important food, without which we cannot exist,” she says. “That is why it is so important for parents to do something good for their children with the air filter devices. They should grow up healthy.” A timely approval was promised, but not kept.
“There is no oversight to be seen,” says the head of education. The school authority is responsible for the systems installed and for ensuring that everything works. “That’s why we have to check carefully. And that takes time.”
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