HOUSTON – It’s the second week of school for Houston ISD students, but an elementary school was forced to close its doors Wednesday due to what the district called an “HVAC system outage.”
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KPRC 2′s Daji Aswad arrived later at T.H. Rogers Elementary School, where she spoke with one parent, who expressed their frustration and concern with the issue, especially on what’s supposed to be the second week of school.
A district spokesperson confirmed via email the campus was closed just for Wednesday and would re-open Thursday.
“TH Rogers Elementary is closed today, Wednesday August 21 due to an HVAC system outage. District crews have been onsite working to resolve the issue. We understand this is an inconvenience for parents, but our number one priority is ensuring a safe and comfortable learning environment for all our students and staff.
“A District operations team will be working around the clock to repair the system. Families can expect to be notified by 4 p.m. today whether school will resume on Thursday, August 22.”
SKY 2 was also above the school where we saw a mostly empty parking lot.
This latest development comes as KPRC 2 has reported on several schools in the district with air conditioning problems, raising concerns for parents as Houston has been under an excessive heat warning for days.
In fact, Chief Meteorologist Anthony Yanez says Tuesday was officially the hottest day of the year, hitting 102° beating Monday by 1 degree. The excessive heat warning has been extended through Wednesday at 10:00 PM.
Heat index values will go above 113°. Temperatures lower by a degree or two Thursday, but it isn’t until Friday that heat indices lower to 100°-105°.
LIST: Resources Houston residents may turn to during excessive heat warning
Just yesterday, KPRC 2 Investigates’ Bill Spencer went to Wisdom High School and spoke with a senior student who mentioned how miserable it has been inside her classroom since the first day of school.
“It is hot and we don’t really have air conditioning or anything,” Niera Cifuentes said. “So, when people get into class, people are typically like sweating and it’s, it’s humid and we don’t have a lot of AC in there.”