DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A metro Atlanta elementary school has gone without functional air conditioning.
In a letter to parents shared with Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes, school officials said repairing the HVAC system has been a challenge, but that the school district is working to get it resolved.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Parents told Fernandes that their children have had to face high heat for about three weeks, but only got word from the school about the issues on Wednesday.
The parents told Channel 2 Action News that the HVAC system at McNair Discovery Learning Academy has not been working for since before spring break.
They said that’s been about three weeks, and it still isn’t fixed.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Metro Atlanta lawyer back in jail; deputies say he failed to register as sex offender
- Woman shot, killed in South Fulton
- Judge denies Fulton County request for documents from FBI election raid
Spring break started April 6, since McNair DLA is part of the DeKalb County School District.
For now, School Principal Shayna Bishop said in a letter to parents that they “are taking proactive steps to ensure that students and staff remain as comfortable as possible,” including adjusting classroom locations when needed.
The school also said staff were working with the district to address concerns over the lack of proper cooling.
While the district says they’re working to fix the problem quickly, parents think there’s another reason for the delays.
McNair DLA is one of the schools currently on DeKalb County Schools’ realignment plan, the Student Assignment Project.
Some parents told Channel 2 Action News that they think it’s the reason administrators aren’t fixing the HVAC system, but they’re worried about what’ll happen when temperatures start hitting 90 degrees.
Temperatures in the metro Atlanta area have been high of late, and likely to hit close to 90 by Friday and Saturday, according to Severe Weather Team 2.
Many parents who spoke to Channel 2 Action News did not want to be on camera, but said that with the heat, they could think of a few temporary solutions.
“First of all, I think they could at least bring in some portable air conditioners,” one parent said.
The parents said they’d hoped administrators would get the issue fixed during spring break last week.
But in the letter sent to parents, the principal said many parts of the school still don’t have air conditioning.
“Standing here with this breeze is killing us so I can’t imagine being in this school with stagnant air, you know?” one parent said. “Even with the windows open, it’s gotta be exhausting and horrible for the children.”
One parent said her first-grade student has complained about headaches all week and she doesn’t understand how the school can let students deal with such uncomfortable heat for weeks.
“I can’t have her in my apartment like that, ya know? CPS would be calling if we didn’t have any heat or AC in our house,” parent Chukell Searcy told Channel 2 Action News.
Searcy told Fernandes students with special needs are suffering even more.
“For them to just let us know now, the air conditioning has been out for three weeks?” Searcy said. “A lot of kids have asthma, my child has asthma.”
When Fernandes reached out to the school district to learn more, they only sent the letter parents got from the school.
It doesn’t say how long it’ll take to fix things or if portable cooling units or fans were coming in the interim.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]