HOUSTON – Houston ISD parents say they are tired and fed up, telling KPRC 2 that some of the classrooms at Harvard Elementary School don’t have working air conditioning, and it needs to be addressed.
RELATED: HVAC issues at Harvard Elementary: Parents’ frustrations boil over hot classrooms affecting students
Our team of reporters has been working to get answers but only getting vague responses.
It’s hot and humid outside on Friday, but parents tell us that some of the kids’ classrooms were hotter than that on Thursday; making some students ill in some cases.
One dad has a kindergarten student at Harvard Elementary. Though he has a lot of concerns, he asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
“There’s been kids that have vomited in his classroom from the heat,” he said.
Other parents say the heat is disruptive to learning and they are worried, too
RELATED: Houston ISD elementary school reopens after ‘HVAC system outage’ forces campus to close
As of Friday morning, we saw students going in the building, like a regular morning. In a message to parents days ago the principal told them “The compressor blew,” so a temporary one had to be brought in after revealing she “made ongoing requests the past two years to address our HVAC issues.”
You may recall, that back in January, KPRC 2 reported on portable heaters being brought into Harvard Elementary School because of issues with central heat amid freezing temperatures.
On Thursday, KPRC 2 Investigates pressed HISD for answers on the air conditioning issue too, we wanted a list of schools with HVAC problems. We didn’t get answers....Instead---hisd officials sent a vague response.
Saying some systems are simply old and need more attention. They added when these issues come up, campus leaders say they are trying to keep students and teachers comfortable by moving them to other buildings or classrooms with working A/C.
SEE ALSO: More Houston ISD schools popping up with A/C failures amid 100-degree temps, excessive heat warnings
I emailed district officials again Friday morning, asking if all classrooms in the building have working A/C. They responded with a similar statement from Thursday but did not answer my question.
“Our team is constantly working to get ahead of possible HVAC issues and respond as they emerge. As we’ve reported, some of our systems are old and need more attention. When an issue persists, campus leaders work to keep students and educators comfortable by moving them to buildings or classrooms with functioning HVAC systems. Some issues that arise can be resolved in a few hours, others may take the full day. In both cases, our priority and focus are to relay timely and accurate information directly with our families and make them aware of next steps. We are committed to maintaining a safe and conducive learning environment for all students.”
