SAN ANTONIO – During the 2023-24 school year, the San Antonio Independent School District had to cancel classes at some schools due to heating and A/C issues.
As students prepare to head back to school on Tuesday, Aug. 13, the district has released operating procedures in similar cases of extreme weather.
In a letter to parents and guardians, Superintendent Jaime Aquino said custodians will start checking classroom temperatures at 5 a.m. He said, according to the Texas Administrative Code, the classroom temperature should range between 72 and 76 degrees in the summer.
“This early start ensures that any potential temperature issues are identified and addressed before students and staff arrive for the school day. In the event that temperatures fall outside of a normal range, school administration will take immediate action,” Aquino wrote.
That “immediate action” includes the following procedures:
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Using portable air-conditioning units.
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Relocating students to other areas of the campus if portable air-conditioning units are unavailable or insufficient. These areas may include the library or other classrooms.
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Moving students to another campus “as a last resort,” Aquino said. Parents and guardians will be notified in this case, he said. They will have the option to pick up their child, and children waiting to be picked up will be placed in a cooled bus with Wi-Fi. Bus routes and pickup will continue as normal from the home campus. Students will still receive meals.
“We want you to know that while your children are in our care, they will be receiving instruction and kept safe and comfortable,” Aquino said. “We recognize that parents and guardians cannot easily take off work or find childcare when schools close unexpectedly. Therefore, our goal is to keep our schools open so that our students continue their learning.”
Aquino added that SAISD is planning bond projects to “fully bring our facilities up to current industry standards,” which would cost about $575 million.
At the end of the 2023-24 school year, Aquino promised contingency plans to address HVAC issues at schools.
That was in response to a 38-page report that detailed failures in HVAC infrastructure, which resulted in the shutdown of 98 schools district-wide due to the cold in January. Also, in May, classes at two schools had to be canceled due to an air-conditioning issue.
The release said underfunding and the number of “aging buildings the district operates” were considered underlying causes of the breakdown.
Read the full report here.
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