10News WTSP is staying on top of the air conditioning issues in Hillsborough County schools.
After seeing hundreds of complaints from teachers and parents on social media, 10News reporter Jenny Dean dug deeper and found out that about 25 schools need major A/C repairs or replacement. That could cost the district more than $100 million. Money the district doesn't have.
Tonight, we are getting answers from the head of the district, Superintendent Jeff Eakins.
There were a lot of schools built in Hillsborough County about 20-25 years ago and that is about the lifespan of an air conditioning unit. Now a lot of those units are breaking down, and the cold, hard truth is that the district doesn't have the money to pay for new ones.
10News has been pushing for an interview with Eakins for more than a week, and we weren't taking no for an answer. So we tracked him down at today's school board workshop.
"The reason we haven't been able to do anything is obviously we have debt we're still paying and obviously we don't have increase in our capital. The millage was rolled back this year so we weren't able to generate even though property values are going up ... we weren't able to generate more revenue."
He says despite that challenge, district officials will make sure students stay cool. "So now we're looking at all the other options that might be available. It may create some debt challenges again, but it's a conversation we're going to have as a district and a board ... knowing there's needs out there in our schools."
But that's just the big issue. There are a lot of other smaller air conditioning issues throughout the district that need to be maintained on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, the district recently put an article on its website to explain to parents the process they go through to make sure they keep your kids cool in the classroom.
We are going to stay on top of this issue and let you know when the district comes up with a plan to deal with the problem and how they pay for it.
More coverage of the A/C issue:
