What’s a HVAC, and why does it mean the kids can’t stay till closing time?
Yikes! Those poor kids, I know I would have been really scared at that age if I was dropped off with no way to get inside my house. (We had a spare key hidden outside the house, so I probably could have gotten in if I remembered where it was, which is doubtful if I was that little and probably freaked out.) And in the weather you describe, a little kid could easily have gotten heatstroke or dehydration if there were no adults in the area at home and willing to help.
I work at a small local daily paper, and this is the kind of story we’d be really interested in covering, because it has intense local interest to anyone who knows a kid in school, which is almost everyone. And if the school systems we cover are any indicator, schools hate being in the paper for anything that makes them look even a little bit bad, because their budget is determined in part by the taxpayers at referendum. I would definitely say you should call your local paper and arrange to be interviewed about it, and do so as soon as possible because it’s best if it’s fresh.
It stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, I believe. In this case, though I am not the OP and can’t say for sure, it probably meant that the AC broke and because it was 95 degrees, it wasn’t safe for the kids to be in school anymore because it was too hot.
Heat Ventilation Air Conditioning – so prob the AC went on the fritz.
I’d just like to correct the OP - this is in no way a Recreational Outrage. This an Actionable, Correctable Outrage.
I was wondering if the “AC” on the end was “Air Conditioning”
So anyway:
Sitting in a room with no AC when it’s (quick calculation) 35 degrees (ok ok 95 for you retro dudes) = “not safe”
Slinging 5-year-olds off the bus with no knowledge if there’s a parent there to pick them up / let them in the house = “safe”.
Apparently.
:dubious:
Yes, the air conditioning broke, so they kept the kids the minimum amount of time to call it a full school day, then sent them home.
WRAL has a story on the failure, but the butthead Wake Co. Schools rep said, “As far as we know, everything worked properly,” which of course even the response I got from the principal belies.
Again, though, they are just saying they’ll make sure the contact system is up to date and working. It does seem I’m going to have to go to the school board meetings and so on to make sure they never put a child on a bus at an early time without verifying that there’s someone to pick them up. GRRRRR.
Oh, the kids these days, they have it so easy! My school didn’t have AC at all. We had things they call “windows”, that back in those days could actually be opened and closed!
And, c’mon, home at mid-day? When I was a kid we were shoved out of the house at 7 AM and told to be back for dinner.
Just providing some RO for the OP. 
The contact system needs to be more than “up and working,” it needs to be reviewed completely to ensure something like this never happens again.
That was some seriously stupid shit the school pulled right there :mad:
I’d contact WRAL and call them on *that * bullshit immediately. “They emphatically DO know that everything did NOT work correctly. They’ve received any number of complaints TELLING them that it didn’t work. Now what happened, who is responsible for it, and what are they doing to ensure it’s not going to happen again? In detail, please.”
My baby girl starts kindergarten on the 12th. Apparently the OP thinks I wasn’t nervous enough already. Thanks a lot OP.
Wait, your parents put a lock on your own window because of you? That seems…disturbing?
You’d think he’d take the hint, but no.
I childproof, but they keep getting back in!
Remember that entrance and keep it holey.
Yup. Sometimes an email cannot express the pissedoffedness, nor the gravity of the situation.
Our schools often close early if bad weather will be moving through during the afternoon, when the buses would normally be on the road. The schools always advertise on the internet and TV, and there’s an email service, but if you’re not paying attention you could miss it.
The last time it happened my 1st-grader’s teacher called me, but nobody called for my 5th-grader. I don’t know if that was neglect or if the school was actually coordinated enough to know that his parents had been called by another teacher.
I’d be just as angry, but given that this mess involves questions of qualified immunity, I’d be inclined to call a lawyer first.
Not that I’d want to sue right off the bat, mind, or head right for pressing charges, but I’d want to know what would do the most good.
I’m another who’d get the police involved.
So the AC broke and left kids in an overheated school in late July.
Late July? Why are kids in school? Back in the day, summers were made for, you know, summerin’.