Parents are fed up with a school’s air conditioning issues after their kids have had to deal with hot classrooms several times over the years.
Ruth K. Broad Bay Harbor K-8 Center has had an ongoing issue with its air conditioning, forcing students and staff to endure sweltering temperatures in class.
“It’s unacceptable,” a parent said.
“On any given day, the A/C could not work and they’re not sent home, they’re expected to stay in school and learn in the heat,” parent Robert Lisman said.
“This is not fair,” said Victoria Saife, another parent.
She said her son would ask her to pick him up to escape the heat.
“I have a 12-year-old son, and every time the A/C is out, which is typically around this time of the year on a weekly basis, he asks me to pick him up,” Saife said.
Conditions inside the school are so warm, students and staff are forced to bring miniature fans to keep themselves cool.
“They go to school with fans, hand fans,” Lisman said.
The A/C problem has been going on for several years and has left parents fed up, trying to solve the problem themselves.
“We also all chipped in and bought my daughter’s classroom A/C units,” said Lisman.
Several parents have sent e-mails to the school and Miami-Dade County Public School officials telling them their “kids are hot and sweaty” and complaining about being given “empty promises” from both the school and district leaders, claiming “Ruth K Broad School AC not working properly for 8 years!”
“Just today, there was an exam that they had to cancel because there wasn’t A/C,” said Lisman.
Lisman said it was a standardized state test that was postponed because of a lack of air conditioning.
Parents said their kids are drenched in sweat by the end of the school day.
“Every time I come and pick him up, he’s all wet because he’s sweaty,” said Saife.
Students are not the only ones suffering. Nearby residents said chillers installed at the school to attempt to cool it off have made living next to the building unbearable.
“I can’t live my life,” said Maurine Corbett, who has struggled to sleep at night because of the noise from the chillers and has even left her condo at times to escape the sound. “Be good neighbors, you know, you’re occupying a large space in our community and you need to be good neighbors to the people of this town. You’re not a sovereign entity.”
Parents said it shouldn’t fall on them or their kids to keep the classrooms cool.
“No, A/C is not a luxury,” said Saife.
7News has reached out to Miami-Dade County Public Schools and they said they are aware of the A/C problem and are working on finding a permanent solution.