In just the second week of the school year, many Inglewood Unified School District teachers and students are facing a major issue: excessively hot classrooms with little or no airflow.
As temperatures soared into triple digits last week during Southern California’s first major heat wave of the year, the district’s older schools didn’t have the resources to combat the weather, as only IUSD’s newer or remodeled schools have air conditioning and acceptable ventilation.
The circumstances left district and school officials scrambling, and made for a rough start to a year in which the district, like others around the country, need to hone in to catch students up from lost learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic school shutdown.
The district’s maintenance department, which is typically months behind in responding to work orders and service requests, could have fixed broken AC units at many of their 17 schools over the summer, when classes weren’t in session. They arrived late last week to several schools and began to get the units working in classrooms, one by one. With the heat wave expected to continue this week, there are still numerous classrooms that have not been serviced.
To compound the problem, the district was slow to get fans to classrooms, and the fans that did finally arrive are too small for rooms to make as much of a difference as is necessary. Staff and students are trying to do their best to stay cool in the sweltering conditions.
“We don’t understand why the district didn’t get a jump on this problem after school was out in June,” one teacher said. “We have had heat waves like this every September for at least the last seven years – this is nothing new.”
“We really need to get this school year off to a strong start, and set the tone for the work we have to do. Temperature regulation in classrooms should be the last thing facing us as a road block right now.”
Temperatures in the region are expected to remain in the upper-90’s through this Friday.
23 Comments
Where are the board members when you need them? Although they are “advisory” in capacity, one or more could speak up or even ask questions. On the board meeting tmrw, not one may do the job!
They were at the photo op at Oak Street today. All they do is take pictures.
Their title should read “photo opp only due to COVID”!!!!
Board meeting tomorrow, which you can attend inside the board room and on Thursday there’s a town hall at Morningside High at 6pm.
Remember, board members have no real power. They are just “advisory” and act as such!
One the board meeting this week; one of the members admitted to not going to school sites — “due to COVID!
Vision is everything!! Does the leader of the IUSD have a vision? What’s the daily mission that works toward the overall vision?
No vision; no survival!
There is only one person who handles the HVAC systems in the District. Most often, he cannot handle the school’s request and has to call in an outside company. Sometimes it takes weeks for the outside company to “show up”. There’s one school on the west side of Inglewood, close to the police department and fire station that has constant HVAC issues. Either it’s too hot or too cold. Since the windows do not open, we are still in COVID, and airflow can be a problem, I’m am not sure how anyone could feel safe from anything roaming around in stagnant air.
When are students and teachers made a priority? It is ridiculous that AC is a problem in 2022.
When the Forum was reopened using money from the redevelopment agency, the community benefits agreement called for them to repair the playhouse at Centinela (Vincent) park. The ac would need to be repaired years later at the taxpayers expense.
It’s still HOT in many classrooms and offices…and it’s the 5th week of school.
I bet the superintendents office is nice and cool?
To the person writing this article and the people in the comments I think you need to understand some things before you are quick to judge these individuals working in the heat.
The district pay is way below what anyone gets on the outside so staff turn around is a revolving door.
So these guys are under staffed to begin with I can guarantee it.
AC maintenance is very expensive and problems are unexpected. Belts filter and capacitors are routinely changed I can guarantee but issues arrive and when you have 25 year old units any number of things can fail and do, when put to the limit in heat waves like this. Just speaking from an ex maintenance workers experience.
Throwing AC in every school isn’t as easy as you think and most bond measures have contingency that do not allow for AC or only so much money is allotted to upgrade it.
For a district Inglewoods size I would say it would be an estimated $400-500 million to get AC in every classroom. We’re talking prevailing wage here folks. We’re talking about upgrading all the electrical infrastructure and building infrastructure to be able to hold the new weight of all these units and power them. Major construction, and it would take years.
Californians we’re just about to have our electricity shut off during this heat wave. I wonder what the load of all those new AC units would do to Inglewoods electrical grid?
So while I understand frustration in the heat wave and I feel for the teachers and kids I would blame older administration. I don’t know how long your current Admin has been around for, but Inglewood has been allowing the problems to persist over the years, a problem 10 years in the making.
The fans are another issue they will end up a problem or a fires. If everyone powers up fans in each classroom on campus those rooms aren’t built for the load. Then when staff start to bring on campus portable AC units from home. With the best intentions it’s going to cause unintended consequences…
The Inglewood taxpayers have approved close to $500 million in bonds to address “fixing” the schools. It’s the current issue of Dr. Erika Torres who provided an assessment of every school to the school closure committee who are busy considering which schools can be consolidated/closed to avoid making repairs in an effort to save money. A facilities manager would know the life cycle of the equipment and plan accordingly but with the high turnover in the district coupled with a silent advisory board made up of alleged Inglewood residents no one knows the dire straits of the campuses outside of teachers and students. There’s this weird program called solar energy that the schools can take advantage of to address the energy issue and every flex alert i see asks residents to consume between 4pm and 9pm which is well after school lets out.
That’s right INGLEWOOD taxpayers Approved these 500 million in bond measures! So that would conclude that public sentiment has been over the years that AC can wait and other “fixing” took priority. Facts.
A good facility manager would know? Seriously, you think that these managers want guys working in this heat? You think they avoided fixing these issue to wait to do them in the heat?
God no, it burns out the employee and makes them less productive.
Sounds like your problem is with the Board not the maintenance staff. I’m quick to defend any man or women working in this heat, undervalued and underpaid. It’s not there fault and I can bet they have kids in the District and have the same concern you do. Don’t blame the working man, look at the leadership taking in 5 times the salary.
Flex Alerts may take place after school hours but the load on the electrical grid starts at 5am when these units have to kick on to begin cooling and ventilating in preparation for the day.
As far as solar.. that weird program. (Grow up and don’t be childish we are having a conversation)
Where would the solar units go? On the roof?
How would the roof support these units? Im sorry but You have unrealistic ideas of how construction and bond measure are completed.
Like I said before the electrical and structural upgrades needed on all these old school districts would make your head spin.
You’ve got a lot of keyboard warriors Inglewood. I would suggest getting your HVAC cert and lending a hand or stop complaining about the workers. Because the problem isn’t going anywhere in the next 6-8 years if they started construction today.
Good Luck Inglewood
so you’re implying these machines aren’t regularly serviced on an annual/semi-annual basis? stop trying to insult my intelligence.
No as stated in my comment before normal maintenance includes belts, filter and capacitors as well as washing coils which I left out and a once over looking for potential problems.
That takes on average 2-4hrs per unit. Unless you find a problem now we’re talking ordering parts, 6 week lead time.. then scheduling the work.
Most of the issues with units breaking down that I’ve seen serviced in the last 72hrs in my district would be motors that are giving out and low refrigerant. Not regular maintenance issues.
R-22 refrigerant is $2k for a 30lb bottle. I’m not hooking up to every unit I maintenance and charging them up and adding more r-22 to our atmosphere.
I’m not insulting your intelligence I just know what I’m talking about, 20 years of Air Conditioning will humble you.
Go check online every district is hiring HVAC right now. They need the help. Apply now!
again, taxpayers have been giving Inglewood Unified money since the early 2000s and most businesses have an area where spare parts are stored to address issues. sounds like these districts have personnel issues with unqualified people not knowing how to do the job.
Again taxpayer approved! These bonds can’t be solely dedicated to A/C. They go to gender related signs for bathrooms, water bottle filling stations, playground equipment. Take it up with the board and go to a meeting..
Baseless claims of unqualified employees. You continue to belittle blue collar workers and the Parents who work in the district that make a measly 50k a year. I pity you.
I’m sure you heard of the supply chain issue, yeah it’s great to stock what you can but by no means are parts always readily available. Give Carrier the manufacturer’s a call it’s 30 weeks lead time to get a single 7.5 ton A/C unit. Facts.
Who said solely dedicated? The money was to fix issues with the district and I guess the HVAC hasn’t been a priority for YEARS. According to the teachers AND students I talked to (current and former) this has been an ongoing problem. It didn’t just start last week with the heatwave, but it did expose that taxpayers money isn’t being used for any other purpose than to line the pockets of consultants hired to “assess” the situation.
That I can agree with you on the money wasted on these assessments with no solution put in place is indeed highway robbery! Orange County districts started with the TK and Elementary schools first. Implementing AC units over the years, maybe that’d be a good start for Inglewood and is reasonable. Can’t see anyone putting up an argument against AC for young children. But like I said before it’ll be years in the making unfortunately.
that worries me too, the length of time it takes to make the repairs, meanwhile schools are losing students, which leads to closures, then what’s the point of the repairs?
You must not know IUSD, there is no people working in the heat, so there is no one coming! I know as did electrical work for them. In a company or district that has a good director and crew, issues are isolated, not the number that they have. A well configured maintenance and prevention program eliminates major issues, you will still have units fail, but NOT as large as they are, they were already being held on string and glue. Honestly, with all the money receives from COVID, why weren’t they replaced?
Isn’t it amazing to think it is hot in September—- almost as unexpected as the idea that every year Christmas comes around !
You would think just maybe someone might actually think about maintenance issues during the non-student days but somehow the concept of school vacation seems to mean administrative brains go on vacation also.
As for the old buildings…the old original designs probably would be a better option than after they were modified!!!!! The windows used to open and the buildings were positioned to take into consideration cross ventilation. Yes some of us remember the papers we forgot to weigh down would fly to the next desk when the wonderful breezes cooled us down….and then that first of the sound attenuation bucks were used to seal windows and put in costly air conditioners that ran all night (not just when students needed them) meaning they gave out after just a few seasons.
Yep sure signs the current administration is not caring anything at all about students their learning conditions or for that matter anything other than her payroll check and getting our tax dollars into the hands of those so heavily invested in election campaigns.
You would think with all the money they have taken from us from past bonds and current bonds, additionally state and federal moneys due to the pandemic, Is new or at least retrofitted air conditioning units what about air conditioning units would have been in place, but I but I guess that makes too much sense, when you’re trying to steal the money.