Schools dismissed early due to air conditioning problems

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Just a few hours after students and teachers started the new school year, some MSCS students were already heading back home due to air conditioning issues.

A few hours after dropping off students, school buses were back at Treadwell Middle School on the first day of class to pick them back up.

Word spread that the day had been cut short because of air condition issues.

“I don’t understand why they getting out on the first day,” Jearlean Peete said. “They should have had this fixed a month ago.

Parents say that taking care of HVAC issues should have been Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins’ focus this summer.

“She should have been more open to having all of this already checked out before the first day of school as opposed to worrying about job cuts,” one mother said.

Her 11-year-old child told WREG what was happening inside the school.

“We didn’t know what was going on,” the student said. “They told us we had to leave. Then we really didn’t get to eat lunch. They rushed us out of the cafeteria. We only had five minutes to eat.”

Treadwell Middle School was not the only school having HVAC issues on the first day of school.

Students at Douglass High School started leaving at 10:30 Monday morning. Teachers left around 11.

WREG has been told that was because of problems with their HVAC system.

“I don’t go to work today, but what about when I am still working? That is gonna be really hard because I don’t have anybody to take care of my kids,” Arma Aispuio said.

Aispuio has children at both Treadwell Middle School and Douglass High School.

While concerns about MSCS’ HVAC issues arise, the community still has questions about whether or not the district has enough teachers.

Over the weekend, WREG obtained a list of teacher vacancies, which showed 478 teacher, counselor, and librarian positions still open. Similar to what WREG reported on July 30 .

“That’s crazy because they have plenty of time to make sure everything is working right,” Aispuio said.

A teacher at Trezevant High School said students went home there too because of the air, which had been a problem since last week.

The teacher said students were in class just long enough to make sure the attendance counted. However, teachers had to stay in the auditorium at school.

There’s no word about whether or not those schools will be open tomorrow.

WREG has reached out to Memphis Shelby County Schools and they provided the following response:

“We excitedly welcomed back thousands of energetic students across the District today. In a proactive response to the aging infrastructure within our school district, we implemented early release days at several schools to prioritize the safety and well-being of our students considering extreme heating conditions. We thank our students and families for their understanding as we continue to address these critical needs.”

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