Two Raleigh schools dismiss early Wednesday due to air conditioning problems

Two Raleigh schools on Wednesday dismissed students early due to air conditioning problems.

Sanderson High School in Raleigh dismissed students early, at 11:30 a.m. Additionally, Wakefield Middle School dismissed students at 12:30 p.m. because there was no air conditioning in the building.

Both schools sent the following message to families:

"School buses will provide transportation home for students who ride by bus, and parents can pick up their students using the normal procedure. Staff will remain on campus with students until they are picked up."

Clubs, meetings and activities at both schools were canceled. Students participating in fall sports will receive information from their coach.

According to both schools, district maintenance staff are working on repairs. Parents should contact their school office with questions or concerns.

"It didn't affect me that [badly], but I know it affected some classrooms really [badly]," said Sanderson High School student Jackson Bradley. "My friend was saying they were sweating in their classroom."

Other people were cold in other parts of Sanderson High School.

"I was shivering," said Sanderson High School student Honor Wheeler. "My hands were kind of numb."

Fellow Sanderson High School student Kate Kelaher said, "If students are uncomfortable, you can't really learn."

WRAL News reported on Tuesday the school system has hundreds of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance, including for heating, ventilation and air conditioning units.

In early August, dangerous heat forced at least two Wake County schools to send students home. Lake Myra Elementary School in Wendell and Moore Square Magnet Middle School in downtown Raleigh had to send students home due to HVAC issues.

Meanwhile, the school system had about 2,900 emergency worker orders last year related to HVAC issues. Another 2,300 work orders last were labeled “urgent.”

About half — seven — of the Wake County Public School System’s 15 heating, ventilation and air conditioning staff positions are vacant.

Wake County Public School System Superintendent Robert Taylor compared the district's HVAC issues with "whack-a-mole." He said the district uses contractors to repair units due to understaffing.

"We will continue to be on the hamster wheel if something breaks down that wasn't anticipated," Taylor said.

The school system has 200 schools — and even more buildings — to maintain. Most don’t close because of HVAC issues in any given year, but the closures are disruptive at the schools that do have an HVAC failure.