Hill Murray High School cleans and disinfects with SAO technolgy.

Hill Murray school prepares to re-open using SAO, a Safe and sustainable cleaning and disinfecting solution. There has been no summer vacation for Hill-Murray School President Jim Hansen. "As soon as school 'ended', and I use that word lightly, we have been spending all of our time researching and planning for what next year’s school year might look like.”

Hill-Murray, like schools all over Minnesota, closed their doors in March. Since then Hansen and his team have been creating a detailed plan designed to allow students and staff to return to school in the fall with everything revolving around safety.

From the day we closed school, for both teachers and administrators, our workload doubled," says Hansen. "This was a dramatic change that increased the amount of time we’ve spent in that process looking for technology, the same way we have done in the classroom asking, 'What could we do to help us make this a safe environment for kids coming up this year?'"

The answer came from Facilities Director Bill Schafhauser. “When I met with Green Science Solutions a few months back it was prior to Covid hitting," says Schafhauser. "So we were already considering the technology and we were interested in it, but everything changed shortly after that. The pandemic changed everything and that’s when we really got serious about trying some things out."

In looking for a cleaning protocol that was safe, effective and sustainable, Hill-Murray began a pilot program with SAO (Stabilized Aqueous Ozone) technology, purchased through Green Science Solutions, and the results made quick believers among those who experienced it.

"You know, for us this was a question of cost, ease of use, and effectiveness,"says Hansen. "We did a test, we monitored those tests and now we’re seeing that it's effective. We’ll be able to do that with every single classroom and not only will we be able to use that material but then we'll test to make sure that we cleaned it effectively. I can’t think any parent would ask any more than that of us."

So while the work to reopen continues, Hill-Murray is prepared to employ EPA sanctioned SAO technology instead of harsh chemicals in their school. Schafhauser says, they'll be ready to welcome students and staff back to a facility that they believe will be cleaner than ever.

“You know, first day of school we’ve got 850 kids grabbing door knobs and lockers and we’re developing protocols to help with that, both in the classroom and in public areas where we’ll use different types of sprayers and that but they should be confident that they’re safe, you know? You need to feel safe in a school for a million reasons but, you shouldn’t have to worry about it not being clean.”

Learn more about Stabilized Aqueous Ozone!