ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – As students return to school on Wednesday, a familiar maintenance problem is back as well. Some Albuquerque schools are dealing with hot classrooms. “It was kind of a surprise because we all walked into this very, very hot building,” said Anna Cherry, grandmother of a student at Adobe Acres Elementary.
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When parents dropped off their kids at Adobe Acres Elementary, they noticed the HVAC systems in the classrooms weren’t working properly. “The school is stifling hot. You can’t be in there for more than 10-15 minutes with everyone in a room and everyone is fanning themselves, it was excessively hot,” said Cherry.
Cherry said she brought her grandchildren to the teacher meet and greet on Tuesday and teachers told her they’ve had issues for months. KRQE News 13 received calls from Hawthorne Elementary about similar issues, their AC was getting fixed Wednesday morning. Albuquerque schools are not the only ones having issues.
In Rio Rancho, Enchanted Hills Elementary, Ernest Stapleton Elementary, and Mountain View Middle School all had cooling system issues this week. It forced them to delay the first day of school from Monday to Wednesday.
The problem isn’t new. Year after year, parents and teachers have raised concerns about hot classrooms at the start of the school year. Albuquerque Public Schools said they’re addressing the problems as fast as they can. The district said they’ve spent millions upgrading school HVAC systems in recent years, but with limited technicians, it can be hard to keep up.
They added that most schools are older and use evaporative coolers that aren’t capable of bringing the temperature below 85 degrees in hotter weather. Parents say they hope to see more done.
“I just think that we need to be better. We need to prioritize our children and the schools and make sure that they kids have what they need when it’s time for them to start,” said Rosenda Fregoso, mother of a student at Adobe Acres Elementary.
“For them to work on it. Get new systems would be nice, I know they’re expensive, but nobody should be working on those conditions,” said Shadae Dupree, mother of a student at Adobe Acres Elementary.
Rio Rancho Middle School also sent a message to parents Wednesday saying they’re having issues with their HVAC. They asked students to wear appropriate clothing for warm classrooms, while they fix the problem.
APS said technicians have been working throughout the summer testing HVAC systems before the school year. They are bringing in fans and temporary cooling units for areas without adequate AC.
