WENTZVILLE, Mo. – The heat wave has air conditioners working extra hard, taxing the cooling systems in some school districts.
Students at one high school in the Wentzville School District had early dismissal Wednesday because the campus was warmer than usual.
Dr. Shane Schlueter, principal at Holt High School, emailed parents saying engineers were on site, working on the rooftop AC units as well as the ice plant at the rear of the building.
Portable cooling units were brought into the building and placed in high-need classrooms, as well as industrial-sized fans. Ultimately, the decision was made to send the students home around noon.
Meanwhile, at Hawthorn Elementary School, temperatures were not where they should be Wednesday morning. The Fort Zumwalt School District placed mobile air conditioners and fans throughout the school.
“We tapped out around noon today,” said parent Pat Hawn. “My daughter has come home from school the last two days, just sweaty and gross.”
A spokesperson for the district says that if needed, kids will be moved to a different room in the school. The district was not planning to dismiss students early at Hawthorn.
But late Wednesday afternoon, the Fort Zumwalt School District emailed parents that all middle and high schools would dismiss 45 minutes earlier than normal on Thursday and Friday.
“We just said it’s early in the school year,” Hawn said. “They’re not that far into their learning. We’re going to bring her home and give her a book to read, which she likes to do.”
Neither Wentzville nor Fort Zumwalt could make anyone available to answer follow-up questions.