SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — The bell is ringing much earlier for end-of-the-day announcements at Beech High School. Students are finishing the week with half days and virtual learning due to a broken air conditioning system that has left classrooms too hot for instruction.
During the early announcements, students were also reminded that all buses would be outside with no late buses available on Thursday.
The air conditioning broke months ago during an ice storm at the end of January. Superintendent Scott Langford said the system suffered a catastrophic loss of two tube bundles.
"During the ice storm at the end of January, we had a catastrophic loss of two tube bundles in our HVAC system," Langford said.
Sumner County Schools said both units cost the district around $250,000. The system broke because the water inside froze due to long periods of no power and freezing temperatures.
The units weigh thousands of pounds and keep the entire high school building cool. Langford said the two new units took weeks to arrive after they were ordered.
"We had hoped it was a 6-8 week lead time; now it's a 16 to 18 week lead time," Langford said.
With hotter-than-normal spring temperatures, the school could not keep up. The district brought in 62 additional mini units, but they could not manage the temperature with the available power.
"We brought in 62 additional mini units, but we couldn't manage the temperature with the amount of power we could pull," Langford said. "Last week especially, it was really warm in the classrooms."
Students will finish out the week at school in the morning when it is cool enough to learn.
The new units are currently being installed. Crews have one of the units running and continue to work on the second.
By the following week, students should be back to learning in the classroom.
Have you or your student been impacted by the broken AC and virtual learning at Beech High School? I want to hear about your experience and how it is affecting your family's schedule. Please send me an email at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com to share your story.
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