Air-Conditioning Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Air-Conditioning Problems Continue to Plague Kanawha Schools

Officials say air-conditioning problems closed at least three Kanawha County schools on Friday.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports a school where teachers filed a grievance over years of AC problems was among the schools closed.

That school’s principal, Paula Potter, says Dunbar’s Ben Franklin Career and Technical Education Center was shuttered all day Friday, after it closed Thursday morning. Potter says officials hope to resolve the AC problems by Monday.

St. Albans and Riverside high schools both let students out around noon Friday.

On Aug. 12, the county closed seven schools due to AC and power failures. Four schools were closed Aug. 15 for similar issues.

Kanawha schools Superintendent Ron Duerring has said the county has old AC systems and not enough money to replace them or make major upgrades.

Teachers File Grievance Over Air Conditioning Issues

A group of teachers in Dunbar has filed a grievance against Kanawha County Schools over heating and air conditioning issues.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the teachers from Benjamin Franklin Career and Technical Education Center filed the grievance last week.

Teacher Julie Wiles led the effort to file the grievance and says the problems have been ongoing for years. She says about half of the center doesn’t have cooling or heating.

The grievance comes amid air conditioning and power failures at the school district. On Friday, the district closed seven schools due to power issues. Four schools were also closed the following Monday due to similar issues.

Kanawha schools Superintendent Ron Duerring has said the county has an old ventilation system and not enough money to replace it.

AC, Power Issues Cause Closures of 7 West Virginia Schools

West Virginia’s largest public school district was forced to close seven schools on Friday for problems with its air conditioning and power systems.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the closings add another set of problems as the district struggles to recover from a devastating flood in June that destroyed two schools and damaged others.

Maintenance Director Terry Hollandsworth said “multiple issues” contributed to the problem.

American Electric Power spokeswoman Jeri Matheney said the company’s systems were not the cause for all but one of Friday’s closings.

Two schools, Herbert Hoover High and Clendenin Elementary, were destroyed in the flood. Students at those schools will share facilities at the damaged Elkview Middle and Bridge Elementary. School officials were working furiously to make repairs before the school year began this week.