34 degrees: Edgecombe high school loses heat, students sent home early

SouthWest Edgecombe High School sent students home early Wednesday due to a lack of heat. One parent told WRAL News the temperature inside the building was close to freezing.

Students were dismissed at 12:45 p.m. after lunch. All after-school activities and events were canceled.

Temperatures dropped below freezing overnight and were in the low 30s on Wednesday morning. Multiple concerned parents wrote to WRAL News that their children were "freezing" in classrooms.

Carly Aycock said her daughter texted her a photo with a Snapchat filter indicating the temperature was 34 degrees inside the building. Aycock picked her daughter up immediately.

"Today, she had a thermal on, a jacket, a sweater, two pairs of pants, a blanket," Aycock said. "This isn't something they should be having to deal with on top of everyday high school."

Aycock is concerned about her daughter missing school.

"When she's not there, it counts against her," Aycock said. "All of their end-of-grading testing is coming. She needs that hands-on; she needs to be there."

A phone call made to families Wednesday said the maintenance team is addressing the heating issue and working to resolve it quickly. It's not the only school to close Wednesday due to the cold. A spokesperson for the district said Franklin Middle School was closed Wednesday due to heating issues.

A week earlier, on Nov. 21, SouthWest Edgecombe High School was closed due to a gas leak on campus. A spokesperson said the gas issue had been resolved and was not connected to Wednesday's lack of heat.

WRAL News asked how long heat has been an issue in the schools but did not get an answer, but the school said classes would be held as scheduled on Thursday.