School closings: Cold temperatures in North Carolina force multiple WCPSS with heating problems to dismiss early

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — More than a half dozen schools in Wake County had to dismiss class early Tuesday due to heating problems.

The following six schools dismissed at 10:45 a.m.:

• Green Elementary
• Brooks Elementary
• Middle Creek Elementary
• Wake Stem Early College
• Lake Myra Elementary
• Dillard Drive Elementary

Meanwhile, Carpenter Elementary School dismissed students at 11:45 a.m.

This is the second day in a row that a school in the Wake County Public School System sent children home early due to heating problems. On Monday, Oberlin Middle School sent its students home at 11:45 a.m.

Parents at Carpenter Elementary School told ABC11 they were frustrated.

“We ask for patience with our families and parents. We are taking the necessary steps that we know to take to make sure things are operating,” WCPSS Chief of Facilities and Operations Mark Strickland said. “Right now, we have a limited number of staff and we’re relying on these outside vendors to come in. Keep in mind, this time of year it’s cold. They’re out working for other people as well.”

The cost to repair all of the district’s heating and cooling systems sits at more than $200 million.

That hefty price tag is something Strickland said is a major concern, especially with the district facing a budget shortfall for the next school year.

“It is very challenging. I think we have to prioritize what it is that is important to us. So for us in maintenance and operations, we would focus more on fixing the heating and ventilation and air conditioning system. We may have to let some other things go by the wayside,” he said.

Strickland said he’s looking for ways to increase funding for lifecycle projects, which would allow his department to completely replace aging units, but those type of replacements are extremely costly.

Cold temperatures in central North Carolina

In each case of early dismissal, the school said its heat was not working at full capacity. That combined with the cold outside air was deemed unsafe for the students and staff to remain for the entire school day.

Cold temperatures that are 10 to 20 degrees below average will continue throughout Tuesday. Warmer weather — albeit still not warm by any means — will arrive Wednesday and Thursday with highs reaching into the lower 50s. Freezing temps snap back Thursday night into Friday with lows in the 20s and highs in the low 40s.