More than a thousand students at Sunrise Middle School in Fort Lauderdale were sent home early on Monday following an air conditioning system failure amid a sweltering heat advisory, with local temperatures soaring into the 90s. The malfunction prompted a swift reaction from school officials, who ensured student safety was prioritized over sweltering indoor conditions, reported to have reached a staggering 95 degrees in some areas of the building, according to the student accounts obtained by WSVN.
Parents were quickly called to retrieve their children, leading to unforeseen disruptions in their work schedules. "I had to tell my boss I had to leave work in the middle of surgery and was like ‘I have to go pick up my son,'" expressed one parent, Mrs. Morris, in a statement to WSVN.
Broward County Public Schools officials relayed that the district's maintenance team was to work diligently on addressing the air conditioning issues as swiftly as possible. Communication with affected families suggested a closure at noon, according to a parent interviewed by NBC6.
The discomfort extended beyond the classrooms, with one student comparing the heat to being "in a volcano." In light of the incident and certain to prevent a recurrence, Superintendent Howard Hepburn stated, "We have full confidence now that they've isolated the situation." Further issues have prompted the district to consider the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in school kitchens and cafeterias, as Hepburn disclosed to CBS News Miami. The air conditioning system was reportedly repaired with assurances given that the school environment would be "nice and cool and ready to go for instruction" the following day.
