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Board presses Wake County Schools on cold classrooms, work-order process and vendor performance
Summary
Board members described classrooms reported near 60—6F, urged faster maintenance response and asked for clearer vendor performance and work-order reporting; staff advised principals and board members to ensure work orders are entered as the first step.
Board members at the Wake County Schools meeting raised concerns about heating and HVAC responsiveness after multiple reports that classrooms have been cold for extended periods.
Miss Rice, a Wake County Schools board member, told staff she had received reports that some classrooms had been at about "66 degrees inside, for longer than days and months," and said the conditions affect students— health and learning. "For their well-being, it's just not good that they're in classrooms that are in 60 degree weather and it's happening on a consistent basis," Rice said.
Maintenance staff and other administrators told the board they are hiring additional maintenance positions, including a chiller technician, and that they have received recruiting help from Human Resources. Staff acknowledged response times have not been acceptable and said they are trying new vendors and reallocating resources to reduce repeat outages, particularly in modular classrooms or rooms with separate HVAC units.
Staff also described the district—s work-order process and asked board members and school staff to ensure that principals submit work orders as the first step. A staff member said: "When we create a work order, it puts our people in process. If it's an emergency, we've had staff already moving that way." The staff request was that board members not be the first point of contact; instead, they should confirm a principal or school has entered a work order and then forward those records to Mark Strickland so maintenance can track response and completion.
Board members asked about vendor quality and completion rates after several reports that vendors returned to schools without fully resolving problems. A board member asked whether district teams are tapping additional internal talent or external partners to increase reliability; staff said they would explore expanding vendor lists and better performance reporting as part of broader facilities and operations reviews.
Ending: Staff said they will continue recruiting targeted maintenance roles, experiment with new vendor relationships and provide follow-up reporting on work-order fidelity and vendor completion rates.
