KITCHENER -- A charitable foundation, operated by the Waterloo Region District School Board, is raising money for additional HEPA filters.

Waterloo Education Foundation Incorporated, which is managed by the board of directors, is hoping to raise $18,000 to purchase 20 filtration units for learning spaces. As of Thursday afternoon, more than $11,000 of that goal had been reached.

According to the group, the total cost of one unit including the first year of operation is $900.

"The process we're going to follow will essentially be parents reaching out to principals, and our principals working with our facility services staff," said Matthew Gerard, the Coordinating Superintendent for Business Services at the WRDSB. "We're going to work in conjunction with health and safety to determine if the asks really correlate with a defined need, if there's a requirement to put the unit in place. For instance, [if] we don't have full mechanical ventilation, or [if] there's other concerns that that are present in either classrooms or spaces."

Since the beginning of the school year, 303 full-day kindergarten and 93 alternative continuum of education classrooms have been equipped with a portable HEPA filtration unit.

An additional 668 units were deployed to other classrooms and school spaces.

"We do believe that is sufficient to support our needs," said Gerard. "However the parent community is asking for this. I think right now, the important thing is to create the environment and to respond to those requests in a way that folks feel comfortable coming back into their classrooms, participating in in-person learning. This pot is meant to support the entire system, all 123 locations."

Filter units will be installed in priority areas as determined by facility services.

Mandi Bond, whose three kids attend Tait Street School in Cambridge, would like to see the HEPA filters placed in every classroom across the school board.

“We have schools that are over 100 years old, high school windows open like an inch, if they open at all."

However Bond feels the provincial government should provide the filters, instead of school boards needing to fundraise.

“While I feel very thankful that there's community members who are so supportive, at the same time, it makes me so angry that it needs to be done in the first place,” she said.

Caitlin Clark, a spokesperson for the Minister of Education, shared more information with CTV News in an email.

"The government ensured that 70,000 HEPA filter units were in place for the start of school in September, including over 1,200 HEPA filter units in Waterloo schools, along with providing all students learning in-school with a rapid test kit over the holidays, and already completed delivery of N95 masks for staff," it read. "The government invested over $600 million specifically to improve ventilation and school safety, which has allowed for the optimization and improvement of HVAC systems using the highest grade MERV-13 filters. We have and will remain focused on investing in quality air ventilation and PPE — by proactively and continuously elevating our plan to protect students, staff, and families.”