Get Answers: Cold classrooms

Posted at: 10/26/2009 6:59 PM | Updated at: 10/27/2009 7:32 AM
By: Jeremy Jojola, Eyewitness News 4; Matthew Kappus, KOB.com

APS says the heaters are going at all schools--but some of are breaking down

It's getting chilly outside and many Albuquerque parents want to know when the heat is getting turned on in their child's classroom.

A viewer at an APS school e-mailed Eyewitness News 4 asking when all the schools in the district will have heat. The viewer said it was 50 degrees in the viewer's child's classroom.

According to the head maintenance boss at APS, John Dufay, all schools technically have heat. But sometimes, there are break downs in the heating system.

On Monday, students at Susie R. Marmon Elementary had to bear cold temperatures because construction crews sliced into gas lines to class rooms. That problem has been fixed.

But for weeks already, the maintenance workers at APS have been working seven days a week—night and day—to get thousands of furnaces and heaters ready. They have been testing them and turning them on since late August.

But on top of testing heaters, there are the ones that break down—a handful do every day. So district officials say sometimes it is impossible to have everything working properly—especially when you are dealing with thousands of heaters.

"It's a very small window that you have between hot and cold and such a massive job, where we are trying to do well over 7,000 units. You have 18 people plus contractors doing that. It takes a good 60 days," Dufay said.

Dufay adds that staying on top of heating for APS will also be more challenging with expected budget cuts hitting the district. It will be harder to pay people overtime to perform constant work on the district's heaters.

If you have a question and can't get answers, contact KOB.

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