Viviana Conner and Teddi Barra at the field house.
New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) turned a toasty situation into a mild one Friday morning as Mauro-Sheridan Interdistrict Magnet students and staff reported to the Floyd Little Athletic Center for the day as a result of a failed air conditioning system.
Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Leadership/School Improvement Viviana Conner welcomed Mauro-Sheridan’s pre-K-through-eighth grade students as dozens of buses filtered into the field house for drop-off at the temporary alternative location.
“Are you ready for some fun today!” Conner said as she greeted students.
The NHPS executive team was put on notice Thursday that Mauro-Sheridan’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system had failed and the school was only getting hotter as the day continued. The problem had been developing for a while.
As a result, the district determined that because the “building is likely to be uncomfortable” again on Friday it decided to relocate the school day to the field house, schools spokesperson Justin Harmon said.
A Thursday night performance by Mauro Sheridan’s theater troupe of The Tempest had to be canceled.
Students arrive Thursday.
The facilities team determined that they will need specialized repair parts that need to be ordered to resolve the issue at Mauro-Sheridan’s Fountain Street complex. The parts won’t be attainable until Monday at the earliest, Harmon said.
“We’re hoping we can get repairs started Monday, but that’s not guaranteed because of the ongoing back orders for parts and supply chain issues the country is dealing with,” Harmon said.
The district was aware of the problem with HVAC system at Mauro-Sheridan before Thursday, but Harmon said problems with the complex system are hard to predict.
Mauro-Sheridan’s administration arranged for Friday at the field house to be planned around physical social emotional learning (SEL) activities. The district’s Physical Education, Health and Athletics Department worked with Mauro-Sheridan staff to have the day focus on physical wellness activities.
“We didn’t want the kids to lose a day ‚so we thought today should be an unexpected treat,” Conner said.
Some students walked into the field house excited for a new change of scenery.
The district’s school buses remained on their same routes for pick-ups Friday morning.
Former district Transportation Facilitator Teddi Barra made calls outside of the field house Friday alongside Conner to be keep up with transportation updates.
Additional buses were also sent to Mauro-Sheridan to pick up students who walk to school or parents who couldn’t make it to the field house to transport the students to the field house. The same process will continue for the end of the school day.
In addition to additional staff support from the district’s executive team, extra care coordinators and content supervisors from the district’s academics office are scheduled to be on site Friday to help staff.
Another chapter in the ongoing saga of lack of routine maintenance and repairs in deficient and aging HVAC systems in the NHPS system in a pandemic. What is the city going to do to improve the situation so that these HVAC and other physical plant issues like broken doors and broken bathrooms with lack of paper products gets addressed on a regular and timely manner before the issues becomes drastic enough to close a school?