DANVILLE, Ind. — A high school in Hendricks County is trying to keep students cool as an air conditioning system is struggling to keep up.
The Danville Community School Corporation told 13News comfort is a priority.
One father said he stepped in to keep his daughter safe, picking her up early from class on Tuesday because she told him she didn't feel well because of the temperature in the high school.
The dad, who asked not to be identified because of concern over his kids being singled out at school, said when he called the school to find out why it was so hot, he was told the air conditioning system was broken and the district wasn't fixing it because they were going to replace it with a new system when they added on to the building.
"They just said they're going to wait it out for the rest of the summer," he said.
In a statement to 13News, a spokesperson for the school district said the A/C is working, but because the building is older, the units are working harder in the warm weather, and teachers are using fans in classrooms to keep the air moving.
"Who knows how much hotter it's going to get?" the dad said.
He's not waiting to find out.
He decided to keep his daughter home from school Thursday.
"She was pale today when she got in the car. She had a migraine. She was like, 'Dad, I just don't feel good,'" he recalled about picking her up from school on Wednesday.
"Why don't they just go remote? I mean, we did it all through COVID," he said. "If they're going to have issues with cooling in the school, do they really want kids getting sick and stuff from heat?"
In that statement from the school district, a spokesperson said even with the A/C working, areas of the building are warmer than others because the system is struggling to keep up during the warmer weather.
For this dad, even if that is the case, the result is still the same: his daughter is struggling in a hot school.
"If she's already having migraines today because of how hot it is, and every day it's getting worse, tomorrow is supposed to be the worst day of the week and yet they're telling kids they have to show up. I don't feel that's fair to our children," he said.
In its statement to 13News, a district spokesperson said the maintenance department is constantly checking the air conditioning units to make sure they're working, and that they will continue to work to keep students and staff as comfortable as possible during this heat wave.