Some Austin ISD educators still dealing with air conditioning issues in classroom

Austin ISD deals with air conditioning issues

Austin ISD has been dealing with air conditioning problems during their first week of school. The district says they've solved the major issues at some campuses, but they're still dealing with smaller problems.

AUSTIN, Texas - Summer can really put a toll on your A/C unit. This week, as Austin ISD welcomed back their students, they themselves have noticed the issue.

"Teachers are meeting the challenge. And so, learning even in the first couple of days, even with it being real hot. Our teachers are doing an extraordinary job," said Ken Zarafis, president of Education Austin.

On Monday, Austin ISD said the A/C at McCallum High School and the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) was out.

On Wednesday, when FOX 7 Austin reached out to the district, they said the main air conditioning chillers, which provides air conditioning to all classrooms in McCallum HS, was out temporarily Monday morning, but it was addressed the same day.

One of LASA’s main chillers was broken, and the rental chiller needed some fixing. That chiller was addressed and fixed same day.

AISD Transportation encourages parents, students to take precaution due to extreme heat

FOX 7's Kelly Saberi checks in with the executive director of transportation for the Austin Independent School District for some safety tips as kids head back to school.

"You know, you have in high school, you've got 30, 32 up to 35 kids in a room. Yeah, that many bodies. I mean, it's intense, but people are trying to work with it the best they can," said Zarafis.

"I think one of the things that it's important to notice is the state of Texas is so miserable in their funding of public schools that part of the problem with replacement of these units is because Texas doesn't fund their schools adequately," said Zarafis.

Several educators told FOX 7 the A/C in their classroom isn’t working.

Austin ISD told FOX 7 Austin, "We haven’t had any other major issues with another main air conditioning, we have only had isolated outages here and there, but no significant issues."

"Ironically, this year we've received fewer calls. Now, there still are some spots where we've had that, but it's always very difficult," said Zarafis.

In November, Austin residents voted in favor for the 2022 bond.

About $412 million was put aside for critical delinquencies, which includes life safety systems, HVAC repairs, plumbing, electrical, roofing, etc.