The air circulating on buses will be a bit cleaner for Marietta City Schools students and drivers.

The district has purchased 67 Bus Clean Air Needlepoint Ionization units for its school buses. The units have been installed on all buses used to transport all general and special education students, said Chuck Gardner, Marietta City Schools chief operating officer.

School board members unanimously voted last week to use $78,565 in CARES Act funding it received from Cobb Board of Commissioners to purchase the units from Custom Mobility.

Marietta City Schools has purchased 67 Bus Clean Air Needlepoint Ionization units to install of its buses. Third-party testing shows the technology can remove 99.4% of pathogens, including the coronavirus, within 30 minutes. Credit: Marietta City Schools.

Credit: Marietta City Schools

icon to expand image

Credit: Marietta City Schools

Gardner said third-party testing shows the units can kill 99.4% of pathogens, including the coronavirus, within 30 minutes. The technology will run around the clock any time the school bus is in use.

The school board last month also purchased Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization units to retrofit HVAC units that have not been upgraded throughout the district.

This technology, which the district purchased from Mingledorff’s, Inc. for $255,990, can remove up to 99% of viruses and pathogens from the air, Marietta schools previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It also can be used while students and staff are in the building.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Police respond to North Atlanta High School after a student was injured in an altercation with another student Friday, Dec, 12, 2025. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)

Credit: Ben Hendren

Featured

Waymo autonomous vehicles operate across 65 square miles inside I-285 and have been involved in six incidents with Atlanta Public School buses since May. Waymo issued a recall because of their cars briefly stopping or slowing down before continuing forward while a bus was stopped and flashing its lights. (Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools)

Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools