Some Wake County school employees will get training on their schools’ heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, so they can help identity problems faster.
School-level maintenance staff may not work with HVAC, but district leaders believe teaching them the basics will help those staff help the district employees and contractors who do.
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It’s one of the many new measures Wake County Public School System leaders are taking after two years of frequent early dismissals and closures because of faulty HVAC during extremely hot or cold weather.
The school system has hundreds of HVAC issues across the system right now but hopes to have most of them resolved before the start of traditional calendar schools in two weeks, relying on more outside contractors.
Wake schools closed or dismissed early 46 times last school year, though they’ve only closed once so far this year. About 40 year-round schools have been in session since July 7. District officials are also prioritizing HVAC equipment that’s been the most problematic and on fully funding preventative maintenance contracts this year.
Maintenance department workers and contractors are currently working on dozens of work orders related to HVAC systems. Workers are actively fulfilling 80 of the 215 open work orders on chiller equipment for air conditioning. Those work orders aren't all serious issues. They're taking place at 150 of the district's 319 chillers. Those chillers are also aging. About 30% of them are at least 15 years old, and many of those are 20 years or older. The district has three temporary chillers on hand to replace any that break down.
The district has accumulated more than $200 million in deferred HVAC maintenance over years of prioritizing new schools and educational expenses, such as new staff and staff raises, instead.
District official gave their update Tuesday to the Wake school board’s facilities committee, just two weeks before traditional calendar schools return.
The school board has become increasingly frustrated with HVAC, hearing complaints from school employees, parents and students about the conditions of the schools.
Board Member Christina Gordon noted that some schools are applying for grants to install window air conditioning units. At her child’s school, she said, “there are parents buying fans.”
The district is making changes without adding more funding to the maintenance department, which could mean de-prioritizing other maintenance efforts. Floor replacements or painting, for example, could be de-prioritized as the district addresses the more pressing HVAC concerns, said Mark Strickland, district chief of facilities and operations.
"We've fallen behind in a number of areas, and it's difficult to play catch up from where we are right now," Strickland said. The district is being more efficient with staff, but they need to create more positions and hire more people, he said.
"Our superintendent is committed that we will attack this problem head on, so we're looking for some positive results soon," Strickland said.
Additional funding is key to solving the problem, according to Jeff Fuss, a history teacher at Enloe Magnet High School in Raleigh. He described the district's latest efforts on HVAC as "triaging."
"That just seems to be slapping a Band-Aid on a gash," Fuss said.
But students can't learn as well in the hot classrooms at Enloe, where the air conditioning goes in and out of working.
"There have been days where my classrooms temperatures have gone up to 86 degrees," he said. Other teachers have reported similar sweltering conditions, he said.
"It is a very easily distracting learning environment at that point, everyone was just uncomfortable," Fuss said.
Facilities Committee Chairman Sam Hershey said the district uses county funds for facilities work but that the district spends too much of the county's money on educational expenses instead. That, he said, is a problem caused by the state not giving the district enough money for educational expenses.
As the district grapples with HVAC issues in the coming year, they'll do so while trying to find a new facilities and operations leader. Strickland is retiring Sept. 1. Hershey said he hopes the district can replace Strickland soon, as his position, prior to his hiring, "was open a long time last time."
In June, at least two year-round schools dismissed students early due to a lack of air conditioning during the first heat wave of summer. HVAC problems have closed or dismissed more than 60 schools since 2023 -- more than one-third of all schools in Wake County.
School leaders have been making efforts to fix the issue, doubling their HVAC maintenance budget from $20 million to more than $40 million over the past two years. They also replaced old equipment and hired more maintenance staff.
Despite their efforts, at times, students were stuck in the heat for most of the school day when the HVAC system would break too late in the day for early dismissal.