Parents and staff highlight HVAC failures; Seneca Valley proposes "disrupted learning minute" metric for MCPS

Seneca Valley cluster coordinators presented video and temperature data demonstrating recurring HVAC failures at Martin Luther King (MLK) High School, including rooms that hit 97 degrees and events that forced relocations and temporary closures. The cluster asked the board to keep MLK's HVAC replacement in the FY27 CIP and proposed a new measure, "disrupted learning minutes" (DLM), to quantify instructional time lost to facility failures.

"The temperature here at MLK has made it difficult for our students to focus on their learning," a student in the clustervideo said. Mark Stunder, a cluster coordinator, showed slides of monitoring data and photos of mechanical failures and water damage, and recounted documented incidents including a January relocation when burst boiler pipes and a chiller failure required temporary relocation of students.

Stunder proposed the DLM concept: schools would log minutes and students affected when HVAC or other mechanical failures disrupt instruction; that metric, combined with the FCI (facility condition index), could make a stronger case to county and state funders. He asked the board to affirm MLK's HVAC replacement in the FY27 CIP and to consider implementing DLMs to strengthen future funding requests.

Cluster and PTA witnesses from other parts of the county corroborated broad HVAC and mold concerns, citing schools with repeated temperature spikes, humidity problems, mold and water intrusion. MCPS staff and board members acknowledged widespread HVAC backlog and said the superintendent's CIP proposes accelerated replacements; staff noted the CIP includes funding for MLK's replacement and said scheduling and funding remain contingent on county council and state resources.

Board members asked staff to return with details on timelines and to consider operational metrics to better capture student learning disruption from facilities failures.