Parents peeved Houston ISD students at school with no A/C, Mike Miles says overall it’s been a strong day

HOUSTON – Many more Houston ISD schools were open than closed Monday after a weekend of storm cleanup and repairs.

And more will open Tuesday, according to Superintendent Mike Miles.

“We think about after the storm and we had 136 schools without power and we had 4 buildings significantly damaged, we had a whole lot of people working over the weekend. . .to get our schools ready,” Miles said. “Today, 214 schools were open and we got kids into the schools, they were fed, they had a place to work, we had instruction and we had air conditioning for our kids.

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But some parents at Hogg Middle School and Heights High were not happy to find out their kids were working in hot buildings with no air conditioning.

“Essentially, we were lied to,” Amanda Pappas told KPRC 2, saying the district forced schools to open.

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Late Sunday, parents were told by Hogg Middle School principal Vanessa Saldana the school had power and “Our cooling systems have been tested, and at this time, we are ready to serve students on Monday...”

Pappas’s 7th-grade son headed off to school Monday morning prepared to take a math placement test for next year.

“He texted and said there was no A/C in the building. And on the 2nd and 3rd floors it was 89, 90 degrees,” Pappas said. Probably not ideal for test-taking, Pappas acknowledged. She plans to pick her son up after his test is done.

“I think the team did a great job getting kids back into schools quickly,” Miles said.

“Our air conditioning units are failing. They’ve not been replaced in a long, long time.”

Miles said he hopes the school board puts a bond before voters that includes upgrading air conditioning systems at many schools.

“Two weeks from now, we’re going to close a couple of schools because of heat,” Miles said.

LIST OF SCHOOLS WITH CLASSES CANCELED MONDAY, MAY 20 IN HOUSTON ISD

Heights High: Classes canceled due to repeated air conditioning issues.

Lamar High School: Closed due to gas leak

Reynolds Elementary: Classes canceled due to repeated air conditioning issues.

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“Mike Miles is making decisions that are not in the best interest of the students,” Pappas said. “The district is just setting these students up to fail.”

“Parents were onsite bringing fans and water and whatever the teachers and students needed,” Pappas said, adding how great the community is when it comes to pitching in and that students had been at the school over the weekend helping clean up all the storm debris.

“There is no reason HISD needed to open today,” Pappas said.

Heights High, which is in the same neighborhood, also had problems with the A/C Monday and canceled classes mid-morning.

They too had things up and running Sunday, according to Miles, but their system went down again in the morning.

Initially, the school asked parents to help, distancing themselves from the district:

“While A/C crews work at the high school, we are asking parents to please bring in any fans they have to the front office. Please label your fans with a name and phone number. Please be aware that the decision to open Heights High School was a district decision.”

Then came this announcement:

Hold tonight for an announcement about classes Tuesday. That should come later today or tonight.