SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Independent School District confirmed Tuesday that two of its schools are closed due to air conditioning issues.
Twain Dual Language Academy and Bonham Academy both cancelled classes Tuesday. SAISD officials said both schools are expected to be open on Wednesday after repairs are done.
A letter provided by SAISD parents to families of Twain students reads in part:
"We apologize for the warm classrooms this morning. We are canceling classes today as we work on the chillers to cool the facilities. Students will return to classes on Wednesday, May 29. Parents may pick up their children, and bus transportation is available for students who use this service."
Ben Stendahl learned about the closure of Bonham Academy Monday night through a letter addressed by Principal Bonham Academy Principal Christopher Herrera, which stated in part:
"Our air conditioning system is not functioning, and we are installing a new chiller. However, it will take some time to cool the building, and we have made the decision to cancel classes on Tuesday to allow the building to adequately cool our facilities for the comfort of students and staff....Safety is our top priority, and we wanted to make sure our families were aware of the care taken in fully addressing the situation."
Stendahl noted there've been problems with heating and cooling at the school before dating back to last fall.
"It’s definitely a surprise it’s still an issue," Stendahl said. “We were actually dealing with the issue last week as well even prior to the closure where we were picking up students early because of discomfort levels or them having to overload other aspects of the building.”
The father hopes district leadership is able to follow through with their declared commitments to improve HVAC systems at all campuses. But his faith in such success is dwindling.
“I’ve heard before that the superintendent say that he is taking accountability for these issues, but I don’t know now what that now looks like since it has failed several times," he said.
Memorial Day weekend saw record high heat index values, with feels-like temperatures reaching over 110 degrees.
This comes after the school district recently released a report about the January heat crisis that resulted in schools closing across the district during freezing temperatures. The report blamed lack up funding for maintenance and underfunding of Texas public schools as a factor in keeping up aging building infrastructure.
On May 23, Superintendent Jaime Aquino explained in a letter to the community the district's ongoing efforts to tackle the HVAC issues, emphasizing the importance of transparency and keeping children safe.
"We are making progress on our district’s facilities. No obstacle is too large to overcome. We are committed to ensuring our facilities meet the necessary standards, because your child’s health and safety will always be our top priority," Aquino said.
Go here to read the full statement.
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