Brrr! Students, staff shiver in cold classrooms
For a month since Jan. 27, CVHS students and staff have been up against cold temperatures within the 100 hall. During the hall’s renovation in 2019-2020, a new heating system was installed which has already failed. Temperatures have fallen into the low 50s.
“The compressors, which are in the attic, failed. So, we had to order new ones and now replace them. Part of that replacement was draining the coolant out, then putting new coolant in. We have been here all week, starting at 6 a.m. working on it. Hopefully, we will finish up sometime next week,” confirmed Johnnie Fudge, project manager for facilities construction, on Feb. 25.
Complaints from students began to increase weekly after sitting around in class, trying to keep from freezing.
“Every day I walk in there, it ruins my week. It is already freezing inside and you walk into the hall expecting to get warm and it’s worse. They need to fix the heaters to make my days snazzier. One of my teachers in the 100 hall, his classroom always has the AC on even when it is cold outside. Like are you trying to get us sick? I’m going to get pneumonia,” said junior AnnaMarie Filson. “How do you work on a building for so long for it to not even be toasty?”
Covid-19 still being an ongoing issue, teachers follow safety precautions and leave windows open. This allows cold air to slip in, making it uncomfortable to teach and learn. Teachers are doing all they can to keep classrooms warm.
“We have some space heaters. But, space heaters under the best of circumstances only heat the space immediately around the heater so it is a problem…there is no way to change that until it gets fixed,” history teacher Sarah Burke said.
“A big issue for me is I can’t erase the white boards when it’s cold. When it’s warm, it comes right off. I point the heater at the board for a while so I can erase it,” claimed history teacher Eric Bahm.
“Whoever chose the contractors for the district on this project did a really bad job. I mean, someone chose this company—they spent a ton of money, and a year this hall was closed and under renovation. It’s not like they replaced anything except put in a new heating and air conditioning system. All that money, and all that time, and all that work…it doesn’t even last,” Bahm continued.
Yeah I guess I’m pretty shocked as well because the hall is essentially brand new and the heating system was recently installed. I hope that the new ones we get are a bit more reliable.
Atleast my 100 hall class is 5th period
I have a few classes in 100 and most are in the morning so it’s usually extremely cold, before I could warm up after getting to class but now it’s colder than ever. I find it shocking that it’s taking so long for the heaters to get fixed when this is affecting not only our health but our ability to stay focused.
I hope, but doubt, that the heaters will be fixed soon because it’s been so cold for the past few weeks.
I hope the heater gets fixed soon. It is insane to me that brand new heaters that the school just installed are already failing on the first school year they are being used.
Hopefully this issue will be fixed soon—it’s hard to pay attention and focus when all the kids are shivering. It’s understandable if the heater breaks occasionally, but if it stays broken for more than a month that’s a big problem for a lot of people.
I hope these get fixed, it’s way too cold.
I think that it’s stupid that the heaters don’t work especially because the 100 hall is newly renovated. I hope this gets fixed soon.
I hope this gets fixed soon, the space heater in our class doesn’t do much.
I only have one class in 100 hall, so I don’t get super cold. I feel bad for the teachers that have to stay there all day though. The space heaters help a little bit, but not a whole lot. I didn’t realize how much we use AC and heating. Hopefully they fix it soon!
Thank you for installing the heaters. In class I was too cold to focus on what was right in front of me. I’m glad, I will now be able to finish my work without getting distracted.
The fact that the heaters were just installed is ridiculous. Thankfully I always bring a good jacket to school but I am still getting chills occasionally in class. With covid restrictions for classrooms and the cold weather it is hard to focus on working when your are uncomfortable.