Price swells as the process to replace Theodore High School’s cooling towers inches along

MOBILE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — The Mobile County Public School System continues to spend $15,000 a month for a temporary replacement of two damaged cooling towers at Theodore High School.

School Board Member Johnny Hatcher said a loose bearing caused a fan to bust out the top of one tower, damaging the inside of the nearly two-decade-old cooling towers.

Hatcher said the issue left the school with no A/C for about a week until a temporary cooling tower arrived.

The rented temporary cooling tower costs $10,000 to set up, $10,000 to remove, and $15,000 per month. Hatcher said the temporary cooling tower has been parked on a trailer and hooked up to the school for nearly a year.

“At that point, it wasn’t worth spending the $10,000 or $12,000 to get it fixed,” Hatcher said. “Now that we’ve spent, by the time this is done, $200,000, it makes you rethink that.”

A school district spokesperson said the price to replace the cooling towers is around $600,000. Meanwhile, the clock is still ticking, and money is still being spent on a temporary fix.

“In my mind, we’re wasting a lot of taxpayer dollars by spending $15,000 a month for something we shouldn’t have to,” Hatcher said. “This should have been done.”

The hold-up, according to Hatcher, stemmed from a disagreement between the school system and the Alabama Department of Education.

The State’s stance, according to Hatcher, is that the school system could file an emergency order to make the replacement. The school system said that state laws stand in the way, meaning that a bid process must first take place.

“I’m tired of the finger-pointing,” Hatcher said. “I want to see some action and I want it now.”

A school system spokesperson said the bid process has begun.

“How long does it take to replace an A/C?” Hatcher said. “Come on guys!”

Either way, if the temporary unit were to be removed at the time of publication, the total price tag since it was placed, would amount to $170,000.

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