School district uses electrostatic gun to fight flu

WAXAHACHIE, Texas - Some schools are reopening but more are closing because of the flu outbreak. One school district is trying to stop the spread with high-tech equipment.

Waxahachie ISD recently bought nine electrostatic sprayers that use dissolved chlorine tablets to kill viruses like the flu.

“With the electrostatic charge as it's coming out of the nozzle, it's positively charged and then it will wrap around surfaces and even get surfaces that you aren't aiming at,” explained Mikel Craig with Waxahachie ISD.

They cost $700 a piece but the district said it was a good investment to keep students safe.

“It's a two-edged sword,” Craig said. “You spend the money to do this. If it's working, you'll never know one way of the other. But is it worth it? Absolutely. We think so.”

Other districts like Melissa ISD have been busy disinfecting the old-fashioned way. Students were out last Friday and Monday. They returned to class Tuesday morning.

But now Rio Vista in Johnson County is closed for the rest of the week. The superintendent there sent a letter to parents Monday afternoon saying there were simply too many kids absent and to prevent the spread of illness and the flu, they just decided to shut down schools for the rest of the week.

Students will return next week after the campuses have been cleaned.