FARMINGTON, Utah — The Davis School District has received a massive shipment of personal protective equipment, which is going out to schools to keep students, teachers and staff members safe while in-person classes continue during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The staff at DSD's Materials Distribution Center receives, stores, picks and delivers the food, mail and office supplies for all of the schools in the district, and they also handle the same tasks for 100 other government entities.
This year, they're especially busy as they've taken on the added responsibility of distributing masks, gloves, plastic shields and thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer. The school district has already spent more than $2 million on PPE, which, until recently, was in very short supply.
"But over the summer months we found that vendors are really coming forward, stepping up to the plate and now the supply is meeting the demand and it’s driven down the cost so we're able to get all the PPE in that we need," said Lori Peterson, director of purchasing for Davis School District.
Davis School District spokesman Chris Williams said the demand for PPE is constant and critical.
"We have to go to school! Students need to learn, but we have to keep our masks on, we have to wash our hands we have to keep as physically distanced as possible," Williams said.