Austin ISD parents concerned for student safety as 30 percent of schools report issues

AISD parents concerned for student safety

Austin ISD said almost a third of its schools reported issues Tuesday, including not having heat in some classrooms. The district said this is being addressed, but parents are concerned for the safety of their children.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin ISD said almost a third of its schools reported issues Tuesday, including not having heat in some classrooms. The district said this is being addressed, but parents are concerned for the safety of their children.

"It’s dangerously cold, and I don’t really want to send my kids to classrooms that are freezing," AISD parent Kristy Lipman said.

Austin ISD said about 30 percent of the schools in the district reported issues Tuesday. Letters obtained by FOX 7 described the issues as having no heat.

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At Murchison Middle School, the principal said the small gym was having heating issues, so coaches used other rooms. At Small Middle School, the principal said some of the heating units weren’t able to maintain comfortable temperatures and teachers relocated to other rooms.

"At my other son’s elementary school, we also got a note that their heating wasn’t working," Lipman said.

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AISD said their facilities team is addressing the issues.

"I think they should have been checking the schools yesterday to make sure that everything was okay," Lipman said.

Monday was a holiday and then many districts made the decision to cancel classes on Tuesday, but AISD chose to have students and staff report to school on a two-hour delay.

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"It’s fine to send the kids back to school if everything is running and warm, but if our classrooms aren’t heated, then the kids should stay home," Lipman said.

"Maybe if they had today off school then they could maybe have fixed the problem and then go back to class tomorrow," AISD parent Louise Rider said.

In a statement, the AISD Interim Superintendent Matias Segura said, "While there are numerous considerations around these decisions, our number one priority is the safety of our students and staff. We are committed to keeping our schools open whenever it is safe to do so."

"Hopefully we won’t have the issues tomorrow," Lipman said.

A few other districts are operating on a two-hour delay tomorrow as well; Del Valle ISD, Dime Box ISD and the Texas School for the Deaf.