Students from Houston ISD’s Harvard Elementary found some relief from hot classrooms last week after parents raised concerns over the state of the school’s air conditioning system.

The details

Anar Abasov, president of the Harvard Elementary Parent Teacher Organization, raised concerns over the state of the campus’s HVAC system in an Aug. 23 open letter to the community.

“It is important to clarify that the purpose of this letter is not to place blame but to focus on the facts and work collectively toward a solution that ensures our children’s health, safety, and educational well-being,” Abasov said in the letter.

While school officials said fixes to the HVAC system conducted Aug. 26 provided students with relief, Abasov is still calling for a community meeting to bring more awareness to the situation.

A closer look

In the letter, Abasov cited several issues pertaining to the HVAC system he hoped district officials would address.

“These problems have included both a lack of air conditioning in the summer and insufficient heating during the winter months,” Abasov said. “Some classrooms are still too hot, and certain classrooms are above appropriate and acceptable heat tolerances as early as the first hour of instruction.”

Abasov noted he believed the temperatures were adversely affecting both students and teachers when the air conditioning units weren’t functioning properly. He called on district officials to host a community meeting to further address the issue.

“We ask for clear and transparent communication regarding the challenges we face, the steps being taken to resolve them, the solutions explored to date, the expected timeline, and any uncertainties that may remain,” Abasov said.

What’s next

HISD board managers will meet for their next regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 14. However, it remains unclear whether managers will take up the matter during the meeting.

In August, HISD board managers voted unanimously to place a $4.4 billion bond referendum on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election.

According to district's website, the bond would allocate:

• $1.35 billion toward campus safety and health initiatives
• $1 billion toward early childhood education expansion and career and technical education improvements
• $2.05 billion toward campus expansions, renovations and rebuilds

Officials noted the $1.35 billion allocated toward health and safety improvements would affect every campus throughout the district, and would include updating HVAC systems, removing lead from drinking water and enhancing security infrastructure.