Masks most important strategy to curb spread of coronavirus, Cedar Rapids school building engineer says

CEDAR RAPIDS — Brandon Rowray, a building engineer at Erskine Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, was one of the last staff members told to stay home at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.

“We come in all kinds of weather and situations and are the last people who get to stay home,” Rowray said. “That was really strange, and for a number of weeks we were pretty uncertain what was going to happen and if we were ever coming back.”

All of Iowa's K-12 schools voluntarily closed after Gov. Kim Reynolds’ recommendation to mitigate the spread of the virus.

“I still think — and thought then — it was the right move,” Rowray said. “I think the school district handled it with safety in mind.”

At the time, Rowray said he was planning some routine deep cleaning to do during spring break when students and staff were out of the building.

He eventually returned to work, but students didn’t return to school buildings for more than five months.

“We came back to work, we had to wear masks, we did our normal summer cleaning where we clean every stitch of furniture, scrub and wax the floors, clean the corners and windows,” he said.

“We installed a lot of hand sanitizer across the building, and loaded up on masks and gloves for teachers.”

For almost two years now, Rowray has been cleaning Erskine Elementary, 600 36th St. SE, in a pandemic.

Initially, a lot of time was spent disinfecting every desk, chair and “touch points” such as doorknobs, Rowray said.

As more was learned about how the virus spreads, mitigation measures improved.

“It became more clear that the virus was spread through the air, and things like washing your hands and wearing a mask were more important.”

The pandemic has not changed Rowray’s attitude toward his job, he said.

“In any given year, we’re always trying to curb the spread of flu,” he said. “There’s always a little bit of extra disinfecting going on and trying to keep things as clean and tidy as possible to avoid spreading disease.”

The most important mitigation strategy Rowray has observed is staff and students wearing masks, he said.

“It helped a lot last year with not only COVID-19, but with the flu,” he said. “We barely had anyone sick. As far as my anecdotal experience, it’s the most effective thing we’ve done.”

As of Oct. 29, fewer than five students and no staff members had tested positive for COVID-19 at Erskine Elementary, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard. There are about 340 students at Erskine Elementary.

Rowray has been working for the Cedar Rapids Community School District for 11 years.

His father, who worked maintenance for the district for 30 years, put in a good word for him when he applied for the job.

Rowray’s responsibilities are vast: custodial work, general maintenance such as changing light bulbs, plumbing, playground repairs, cleaning up the cafeteria and delivering mail throughout the building.

His job is “in the background,” but occasionally, he gets questions from students and teachers.

“They’re always asking questions about what I’m doing,” he said. “It’s been really rewarding in that way too. You get to talk to kids, and they’re really funny and super curious.”

The birth of his daughter with wife Grace Chamberlain last year has made interacting with students that much sweeter.

“It is kind of fun to explain what my job is and tell kids it’s an important job,” Rowray said. “It’s nice to hear kids say, ‘I want to be just like you when I grow up.’ ”

The couple live in Mount Vernon with their two rescue dogs — border collie and Australian shepherd mixes. They were only going to get one dog, but when they saw them huddled together, shivering, they had to get both, Rowray said.

“They’re kind of a handful,” he said.

Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com