As students at traditional Wake County schools pick out their first day of school outfits, some are doing so with heat inside the classrooms in mind.

“They just want to wear basically, you know, a bathing suit to school because they don't want to be hot going into the school,” Amanda Saulter, PTA president at Lynn Road Elementary said.

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Schools across Wake County hosted their annual back to school open house events last week. Afterward, WRAL received multiple reports, from multiple schools, of hot temperatures inside classrooms.

>> WRAL analysis: Inspections find HVAC concerns at 1 in 3 Wake schools

Those schools include:

  • Lynn Road Elementary School
    • Banks Road Elementary
      • South Garner High School
        • Millbrook High School
          • Wendell Magnet Elementary School, awaiting confirmation by Wake County Schools

            WRAL asked the district about each of these outages reported by viewers. In each confirmed instance, a spokesperson said on Friday, repairs are ongoing or complete. We reached out Sunday afternoon for a final update on the state of those repairs before schools return and have not heard back yet, as of the time of publication.

            "I have now a high schooler and this issue has been going on since she was in Lynn Road Elementary School," Saulter said.

            In an email sent to the Lynn Road community, Principal Alicia Miller wrote that the district is considering moving up a planned HVAC project currently scheduled for 2028.

            The email also stated that hot temperatures during last week's open house inside some classrooms due to the "system not being reset for the evening event."

            She also said HVAC outages were limited to the main and student support offices at Lynn Road. Repairs are currently awaiting the arrival of a necessary part.

            "It's hard because every year you think, 'okay, this will be the year they're going to fix it,'" Saulter said. "It's frustrating, very frustrating." 

            Jeffrey Marshall is entering his seventh year as a Lynn Road parent. Standing in front of the school Sunday, he told WRAL the outages date back to May, before the 2025-2026 school year ended. 

            "It's time for action. It's time to get this fixed. It's been far too long," Marshall said. 

            Marshall said he was shocked to feel the hot temperatures inside classrooms at Meet the Teacher night last week. 

            "'Dad, it was so hot it felt so hot it felt like it was 110 degrees' is what my fourth grader said," Marshall said.

            Marshall and other Lynn Road parents are trying to escalate their concerns up the district chain of command. 

            "We want the community to be talking about all the good things that are happening at Lynn Road," Lynn Road parent Emily Malpass said. "Until our HVAC situation is fixed, that is the narrative around Lynn Road Elementary." 

            Malpass is going into her eighth year as a parent at the school and is tired of empty promises of when Lynn Road repairs will happen. She attributes a lot of the school's facilities issues to funding. 

            "If the General Assembly did more to fund our schools, those local funds could be focused on facilities where they are intended to be spent," Malpass said. "We know Lynn Road isn't the only place where the temperature isn't right." 

            WRAL is still awaiting confirmation that Wendell Magnet Elementary School is experiencing HVAC issues as well. Sarah Bridgers told WRAL that when attending her Wendell's back-to-school night last week, she noticed the windows open in her daughter's classroom. 

            "We asked the teacher why the windows were down," Bridgers told WRAL over the phone. "She expressed that for a few years she has not had AC in her classroom." 

            Bridgers said she is concerned for teachers and students alike returning to classrooms Monday.

            "It's just very disheartening to hear that the county is not taking care of the teachers like the teachers take care of our students," Bridgers said.