CMS works to fix malfunctioning air conditioning at local high school

CHARLOTTE — As the temperatures rise outside, it’s heating up inside a Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school. Hawthorne Academy of Health Sciences in east Charlotte’s Belmont neighborhood hasn’t had working air conditioning this week.

A viewer told Channel 9 that some classrooms have reached 90 degrees during the first week of school.

Channel 9′s Jonathan Lowe obtained a memo that Hawthorne Principal Sharon Bracey sent to staff saying, in part, “Unfortunately, because of the volume of rooms impacted, we cannot relocate classes. Please do not move your classroom location without direction from the administration.”

The principal said she has been submitting work orders for various HVAC issues all summer.

She said professional dress is still expected, but she suggested dressing in layers to best plan for weather conditions. She added that she was hoping for a resolution soon, adding there are not enough workers to support all the needs of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

A spokesperson for CMS told Lowe they’re working to fix the issue as quickly as possible. They determined a system that controls when the air comes on and goes off, as well as whether it blows hot or cold, is not functioning properly.

In the interim, staff and students are being relocated to cooler areas of the building.

“CMS Building Services was notified of HVAC concerns, the HVAC technician responded to diagnose and problem solve the air issue,” CMS said. “It was determined that the building automation control systems (BAS) which is malfunctioning and controls when air comes on and goes off or if cool or hot. The district is working expeditiously to address this system. In the interim, staff and students are being relocated to areas of the building that are cooler.”

On Thursday, Bracey said air conditioning had been restored to many areas of the school.

Lowe’s sources told him on Wednesday that finding cool spots in the school is becoming harder with the rising heat this week.

Lowe spoke with a long line of parents waiting to pick their children up Wednesday afternoon. None of them knew the students inside didn’t have air conditioning.

“My one daughter told me it was very hot yesterday,” a parent said.

“The majority of the class was really hot, sweating,” said Mikenzie Hayes, a junior at Hawthorne Academy.

The school has been without air conditioning since class started Monday. Parents said they didn’t know what was going on until Lowe told them.

“It’s very upsetting,” Stacy Davis Hayes said. “If I had known that then I would have made sure that she had extra water during the day.”

“This is a really good school, especially with the medical program, the nursing program which my son is doing,” Arretta Gatlin said. “I love it, but this is not OK.”

“It’s 95 degrees, maybe more,” Gatlin said.

But the students seem resilient, despite a less-than-ideal start to the school year.

“We’re getting folders and we’re fanning ourselves, that’s pretty much all we can do right now,” Mikenzie said.

Lowe sent a detailed email to CMS around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday asking if there are any other CMS schools with air conditioning issues. He also asked about the timeline for the repairs.

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