Air conditioning returns to some middle school students

10 News got a tour Monday inside Forest Middle School after parents complained

BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – Air conditioning is now flowing through all of Forest Middle School, according to Bedford County schools spokesman Ryan Edwards.

Temporary repairs were made on Tuesday. 


Some local parents are upset about their children not having air conditioning for the first day of school Monday.

Bedford County school leaders said they're doing everything they can to make sure kids are as comfortable as possible and air should be flowing throughout the whole building Tuesday.

School spokesman Ryan Edwards said 14 seventh and eighth grade classrooms didn't have A/C Monday. He said staff ran the A/C unit 24/7 this weekend, and students have had access to bottled water.

The school administration let 10 News reporter Tommy Lopez inside the building just after school let out. He reported that fans that were running kept the rooms at a pleasant temperature, saying it didn’t feel hot enough for anyone to be sweating, but it was a little stuffy.

10 News asked school leaders about the issue because some parents have complained.

“I’m an old guy so I went to school when there was no A/C, and I know how uncomfortable it was and how difficult it was for me to maintain focus,” parent Greg Deramus said. “I don’t think I would want to have to have my kid sit in a classroom when it’s 90 degrees.”

“We were in there for orientation and my oldest is in seventh grade and just us and the teacher and him, it was sweat rolling down our backs. Pretty hot. It’s going to be pretty hard to manage with all those kids,” parent Candice Brunk said.

Other parents said staff members are doing a good job responding to the issue.

“The school is doing their best to get it taken care of. They’ve sent the unit out to have a part replaced,” parent Cori Olson said.

Staff members sent an email out to parents this weekend to let them know about the issue.

“We did do our best to give them a heads up that it was happening, so I think they’ve been understanding for the most part,” Edwards said.

Edwards said the staff was monitoring the problem during the summer break.

“It’s a difficult situation because the HVAC system at Forest Middle School, it’s out of date,” he said.

He sad staff members just recently found out they need to replace a part they thought they could fix. The cooling system is so old, the company doesn't make parts for it anymore and needs to look all over the country to find a seller.

He said workers plan to make some temporary repairs Tuesday to get cold air throughout the whole building.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing some of these aging parts of the building that are giving way at inopportune times,” he said.

There’s a proposal to renovate the school. The Board of Supervisors could approve a plan that Edwards said includes more than $20 million. It would include a new A/C system, among other improvements.

“I think this is just one more example of why this renovation expansion project at Forest Middle School is so necessary to the students, the staff and the community as a whole,” Edwards said.

Another major aspect of the project would be an overall expansion of the school, in response to a growing number of people living in the community. Edwards said the plan is to increase the school’s capacity from around 850 students to 1,200 students. Leaders are eyeing a 2020 completion date.