DUNWOODY, Ga. — A DeKalb County elementary school is preparing to welcome students back for its first day of school on Monday, but not without its issues.
"We had open house yesterday, and the air conditioning, which we had been aware of there being problems with it, still was not working. It was at least 88, 90 degrees in the classrooms and humid," said Meredith Alberto, the former PTO president and parent of a rising fifth grader. "I can’t imagine how much worse it’s going to be once there are 25 students and one to two teachers in each classroom."
Kingsley Elementary School in Dunwoody said it is dealing with issues with its air conditioning and cooling systems throughout the building. In a letter to parents, the principal said that because of that, all classrooms will be equipped with spot coolers to help lower the temperatures as students arrive back to class for their first day on Monday.
"It’s a quick fix," said Alberto. "It’s a bandaid, and the bandaid isn’t even working."
Christina Dupuis, who has two kids at the elementary school, echoed Alberto's concerns, adding the high temperatures are 'unsafe' for students and teachers.
"Their solution is they’re bringing in cooling units, but the cooling units aren’t cooling properly," she said.
Both Alberto and Dupuis, along with Evan Evans, who also has two children attending Kingsley Elementary, said they don't blame the staff or teachers at the school. They said they want a permanent fix from the District.
"I think the district needs to step in and make some changes to the system," said Evans.
"I want the district to come up with a meaningful solution and to source the funds to actually replace the system as it should have been done," added Alberto. "It’s ridiculous that they can’t do that."
On Friday, Principal Dr. Tyra Harris-Thompson provided an update in a letter to parents on how the school plans to keep cool until permanent accommodations are in place.
"I'm happy to report that this afternoon, the two portable 40-ton industrial air conditioning units were delivered, set up, tested, and will soon be operational. Our exceptional operations team is working to connect the units to our existing ductwork," Harris-Thompson wrote.
The principal said the system's functionality will be monitored through the weekend to ensure smooth operation by Monday.
"Please know that the comfort and safety of everyone in our school remain our top priorities," she said.
The District also told 11Alive temperatures should be in the low 70's in all classrooms come Monday.
"I commend our hardworking operations staff, who are working tirelessly to restore our air conditioning units to full capacity as quickly as possible," Harris-Thompson said in a letter to parents.
