Educators, parents rally for HVAC repairs at Wake County schools: 'An urgent issue'

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Educators and parents are calling for hundreds of millions in overdue repairs at Wake County schools -- specifically fixes to aging HVAC equipment that has led to recent dismissals at several schools in the district.

In 2024, Board Chair Chris Heagarty said there were 40 school days when students at a Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) school were dismissed early due to HVAC equipment issues.

"It's an urgent issue, our schools are falling apart, and it's going to take a lot of money to fix these issues," said Christina Cole, President of Wake North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), which led Wednesday's event at Moravian Church in Raleigh.

That event was geared at finding a way to pay for needed repairs, which Heagarty estimates could cost hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run.

Cole said the Wake NCAE would be pushing county commissioners to find some funding in this spring's budget for repairs, but are looking ahead to 2026 when they want a bond put on the ballot for Wake County voters to potentially fund more widespread fixes.

Heagarty said the board understands the urgency behind the repairs, and that a bond may allow the district more financial flexibility, especially with uncertainty ushered in by inflation and new tariffs.

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"By financing a big expenditure over time, if we can get voters to approve a bond, we can get that money now and lock in at those current costs, even though it's going to address future needs we'll be paying it back over time," he said.

Historically, bonds have been reserved for the construction of new schools to support Wake County's rapid growth, which Heagarty admits has been a complicating factor in keeping the current school equipment up to date.

"What NCAE is talking about, and I think it's something we need to consider, is really putting much more of that money into taking care of the schools that we have, renovating those, doing all of the needed repairs, rather than building brand new schools," he said. "If we do that, if we take care of the schools we already have, it'll benefit more taxpayers, more people here in Wake County."