In the middle of a stretch of WRAL Weather Alert Days, some school HVAC systems seem to be feeling the strain of the hot temperatures.
Over the last month, our newsroom has received more than 30 complaints about HVAC issues in Wake County Schools and insufficient solutions. Thursday, about half of dozen of those reports pertained to conditions inside Millbrook High School.
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“It’s inhumane,” Chrisi Kemp told WRAL.
The school principal notified families of the HVAC problems and said students could leave early, if needed. However, classes continued for the rest of the school day.
“Upon arrival this morning, school personnel noticed that many of our classrooms and building spaces were hot. An emergency work order was entered for the district to assist. At this time, Maintenance & Operations has been out to reset the chillers around campus,” the principal’s message reads.
Parents reported hot classrooms themselves here at Millbrook High School during ‘Meet The Teacher’ before classes started for the school year. At the time, the district said chillers needed to be reset -- the same fix mentioned in the principal’s message this morning. WRAL asked why the school is experiencing the same issue within about two weeks’ time. We did not hear back.
“We also are taking additional steps to address the higher-than-normal temperatures in our classrooms and hallways. We have relocated as many classrooms as possible, especially from the 3rd floor to the 1st floor,” the principal’s message reads.
Earlier this week, superintendent Robert Taylor said the district has not had to close any schools so far this year due to HVAC issues.
“Right now, we haven’t had an entire impacted, just sections of a school. I remind parents that is just 9 schools,” he said.
However, Kemp said her daughter was sweating profusely when she picked her up and questions the decision-making process by school leaders.
“We should have brought everybody down, maybe even called school today,” she said.
When deciding whether to close a school, district staff has previously said they consider whether temperature is affecting learning or safety, how a closure could impact transportation and what time of day a decision could be made.
The HVAC problems are not specific to Millbrook High School. Last month, WRAL Investigates reported that about a third of Wake Schools have some type of documented HVAC issue, according to county inspection records. Many inspections noted specific classrooms. In some cases, entire corridors were impacted.
On the first day of school, the superintendent said the district replaced several chillers and HVAC units this year.
“We replaced a number of chillers and HVAC units this year, and so those are the things that we're doing to make sure equipment is new and replaced,” Taylor previously said. “But even with new equipment, it could experience issues, and we just want to make sure our technicians are there to address that in a timely manner.”
If you or your child notices HVAC issues at school, please send details to our team at jshu.net/report-it.