On first day back in class, Wendell school closes early thanks to broken AC unit

WENDELL, N.C. (WTVD) -- The first day of school is never a good time for the air conditioning in a heat wave to stop working, but that's exactly what happened for students at Lake Myra Elementary in Wendell.

"It felt sweaty," said kindergarten student Trace.

Trace was just one of the pupils who barely got through orientation on his first day of kindergarten before about an hour later parents got the call to pick up their children. A broken AC unit made the classroom unbearable.

"When they're so excited they're starting kindergarten, you're trying to get them into a routine and you're just not sure day to day if you're going to be able to go to school or not, it makes it hard," said Trace's mom Ashley Harris.

For parents, the quick turnaround was a challenge. The Wake County Public School System told ABC11 that it has the parts on hand and HVAC specialists are making the repairs.

But WCPSS said this is far from the only school where this happens, especially as those AC units age.

"Simply put, many of our HVAC units are aging, and we just don't have enough specialists on staff to keep up with maintenance and repairs. Multiple schools every week report HVAC problems," said WCPSS board chair Chris Heagarty in a recorded video.

There was no word on when the repairs at Lake Myra would be completed.

School officials said the school will remain closed again on Thursday. All before and after-school programs have also been canceled due ti the high temperatures inside the building.