At least 23 Henrico schools report broken AC units; 15 still need repairs

Air conditioning units were down in at least 23 Henrico schools, with five schools having almost no AC schoolwide, according to a significant number of reports made by school employees this week.

Henrico Schools’ facilities team has completed work on the AC units at eight schools, but is still working on broken AC units in 15 schools. The majority of issues are limited to certain areas in buildings, such as some hallways of classrooms, according to HCPS spokesperson Eileen Cox.

As of Aug. 16, only five days before the first day of school on Aug. 21, a number of schools needed immediate AC work: Springfield Park Elementary, Oak Avenue Complex, Tuckahoe Elementary, Brookland Middle, Lakeside Elementary, Johnson Elementary, Highland Springs High, Nuckols Farm Elementary, Glen Lea Elementary, Glen Allen Elementary, Regency Adult Education Space, Fair Oaks Elementary, John Rolfe Middle, Ridge Elementary, and Holladay Elementary.

The facilities team recently completed air-conditioning work at eight other schools, Cox said: Montrose Elementary, Fairfield Middle, Kaechele Elementary, Shady Grove Elementary, Freeman High, Seven Pines Elementary, Glen Allen Elementary, and Godwin High School (Godwin’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system is being evaluated for long-term work).

AC units were broken schoolwide in Kaechele Elementary and Godwin High and are still down schoolwide in Springfield Park Elementary, Brookland Middle, and Lakeside Elementary.

HCPS staff members and concerned parents have gone to social media to express their worries about students being in buildings without air conditioning next week, especially as temperatures are expected to reach a high of 98‎°F.

One staff member at Springfield Park Elementary, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the HCPS Central Office should make the issue more of a priority.

“It’s been pretty terrible since last week,” the staffer said. “We were asked not to put it on blast, but it’s very frustrating and it’s hard not to be very grumpy when you’ve been hot all day. It doesn't seem like the central office is taking us very seriously.”

Cox, however, said that HCPS is making AC repair a priority and will have all school buildings fixed and cool by Monday.

"The facilities team continues to prioritize AC repair and essential maintenance with the plan for all school systems to be operational (and buildings cool) when students return to school Monday,” Cox said.

Springfield Park Elementary will receive two replacement compressors ordered by the HCPS facilities team by Friday, according to Cox.

While HCPS has reported 23 schools that need repairs, staff members from several other schools reported similar issues. Vickie Crumpton, an exceptional education instructional assistant at Hermitage High School, said that the building’s air conditioning has been a long-standing problem.

“Our school is 51 years old. The heat and air conditioning are always broken,” she said.

Another anonymous HCPS staff member described havingheard of issues at both Hermitage and Skipwith Elementary.

“I do know for a fact, I’ve had friends that work at Skipwith and they’ve had issues,” the employee said. “And I had training in Hermitage High School last Friday, and they did not have any AC.”

An anonymous HCPS staff member also reported spotty AC while working at Echo Lake Elementary.

Several HCPS staff members also reported AC issues at their schools on social media, including three employees from Maybeury Elementary, two employees from Ward Elementary, one employee from Mehfoud Elementary, one employee from Moody Middle, and one employee from Holman Middle.

HCPS Central Office officials did not include those other eight schools on the list of 23 schools that experienced air conditioning problems. The 23 listed schools represent approximately 5.6% of the 500 HVAC systems operating across the division, according to Cox.

Cox clarified that the HVAC systems were not intentionally shut down for routine maintenance and that any work being done will be related to repairs or essential servicing to avoid potential AC problems in the future. Routine maintenance on HVAC systems is scheduled for times when staff and students are not in the building “whenever possible,” according to Cox.

HCPS will deploy spot coolers and additional fans if buildings are still experiencing problems on the first day of school, Cox said

Several HCPS staff members also brought up concerns about school custodians and bus drivers who may have to work with no AC for much longer than teachers or other staff. One former HCPS bus driver, who asked to remain anonymous, described never having an AC system on the bus.

“I drove for 16 years, no AC,” the driver said. “When it was really hot, I would bring a cooler of extra waters, but the kids mainly loved just having the ice for their foreheads. Most kids only spend 15-30 minutes on the bus, but the bus driver spends three and-a-half to four hours on the bus.”

The former bus driver wasn't aware of any HCPS buses that had air conditioining before 2022.

“None of the older buses have AC,” the driver said. “It wasn’t until 2022 that they started getting AC-equipped buses. So many drivers without seniority are still driving without AC.”

HCPS officials did not respond to requests from the Citizen to comment on those statements by the time this article published.

A staff member at Springfield Park expressed frustration that the AC units were not prioritized when they broke down last week.

“I can say for certain that our principal has been doing everything she can to get somebody from central office to come out and help us,” the staffer said. “And she was told that we were not as high a priority as other schools because apparently it was worse in some other schools, and they were going to have to order parts and that was going to take a while.”

Cox said that HCPS received the majority of maintenance reports in the past 24 to 48 hours.

The HCPS facilities team is working hard to fix air conditioning issues at Springfield Park and at schools across the division, according to Springfield Park Principal Tracy Spain.

“I want to assure you that this is a priority project for the school division,” Spain said in a message to Springfield Park staff and parents.

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Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.