KATY, Texas — It was a miserable day for students and staff at two Katy ISD schools after their air conditioning units went on the fritz.
School wasn't canceled but parents from Seven Lakes high and junior high schools were allowed to pick up their children.
CenterPoint Energy informed the school district that two of its fuses in the area had blown.
"When I first walked in, my first thought was, 'wow, it's really hot in here,'" said sixth grader Tyson Pavle. "Everybody at lunch was calling their moms and dads asking them to come pick them up because of how hot it was."
Pavle said some teachers put up fans, but still struggled to cool their rooms. Some kids took off their shoes and socks to help them cool down.
Tyson's father, Jason, was one of dozens of parents lining up at the junior high and high schools to pick up their kids.
"You want them to be comfortable so they can maximize their learning opportunities, and if they're worried about how hot they are, I can't see how that's productive," said Jason Pavle."I think half a day for them to be out of that situation is fine. I don't think it's going to curtail their education."
The fuses were repaired later in the day.
Katy ISD released multiple statements throughout the day to keep parents updated.
The most recent said:
Katy ISD is aware of outages that may have occurred at district locations that have impacted instructional days. As there are many outside factors when it comes to air conditioning and power supply, the Katy ISD Maintenance & Operations Department works collaboratively with CenterPoint Energy and other outside entities to keep equipment maintained and operational. If outages, of any type, do occur the District responds quickly to inform our parents of the incident and options parents may elect on behalf of their child. The health and safety of all of our students and staff is our number one priority as we work to ensure campus environments are conducive to learning and personal growth.
CenterPoint said Katy ISD has experienced "a few service interruptions this year," including ones that are weather-related. A spokesperson said four non-weather-related interruptions have taken place in the last 12 months: one was an "extended" interruption of three hours or more, and the other three were "momentary."
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