The Houston Independent School District has been disinfecting schools daily in order to combat the spread of COVID-19, and a $200,000 donation from locally based international energy company Phillips 66 is now supporting those efforts to protect students and staff.

HISD has utilized the donation to outfit schools with state-of-the-art electrostatic cleaning supplies and equipment. The Phillips 66 donation is designed to assist with safe continuation of in-person instruction on district campuses.

“There is no doubt that this generous gift is making our campuses safer,” Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “We deeply appreciate Phillips 66’s desire to help HISD keep our campuses clean and safe.”

The job of disinfecting HISD campuses is a massive undertaking. HISD is the largest school district in Texas and the seventh largest in the nation with more than 280 campuses spread over a 300 square mile area.

Daily, HISD sprays an electrostatically charged mist onto surfaces and objects. This process is also used in hospitals because it is an effective solution for quickly eliminating germs in contaminated areas.

“We have a deep appreciation and understanding at Phillips 66 of the great care that is being taken to keep students safe,” Phillips 66 Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Communications Sonya Reed said. “We wanted to help make sure our schools were as prepared as they could be — and then some — for this new challenge.”

COVID mitigation efforts have resulted in unexpected expenses for school districts nationwide. HISD is grateful to have the support of community partners like Phillips 66 in making in-person learning as safe and successful as possible.