The week?s warm temperatures and broken air-conditioning units kept students at two Anne Arundel County schools home for a second day Wednesday.
Alex Szachnowicz, acting director of school facilities, said crews were still trying to fix the systems at Van Bokkelen Elementary School in Severnand Chesapeake Bay Middle School in Pasadena, but said he didn?t know when the air would be back on.
Forty years ago, many schools didn?t have air conditioning and students weren?t sent home on warm days.
“I think as a society, our expectations have changed,” Szachnowicz said. “I didn?t go to any school with air conditioning.”
But in the early 1970s, new schools were built to function with central air conditioning. To save energy, many of them were built with few, if any, windows, Szachnowicz said, leaving few options for cooling when the air conditioning goes out.
Students at Van Bokkelen Elementary and Chesapeake Bay Middle will not have to make up the missed time, said district spokesman Tony Ruffin.
The equipment problems this week came despite routine pre-season maintenance. The school district typically services the air-conditioning units at all 125 school facilities between March 31 and April 15, Szachnowicz said. Crews work through a detailed list of maintenance tasks for each unit and test them to ensure they work.
“But just because you do all the right things doesn?t mean you?re not going to have something break down,” Szachnowicz said.
The district maintains a variety of cooling systems from commercial window units to rooftop heat pumps, ice machines to water and air chillers.
Szachnowicz said much of the maintenance is contracted out because of the wide variety of systems. The units range in age from brand new to 15 or 20 years.
Students at Arundel High School in Gambrills were dismissed two hours early again Wednesday because of the heat. Arundel High, the last county high school to receive air conditioning, will have a cooling system in place by August.
