BRANDON, Fla. — Students at Yates Elementary School in Brandon returned to hot classrooms after a long weekend. 

Parents say they received an automated message from the principal on Tuesday, letting them know the air conditioning had gone out, and they could pick up their children early if they wanted. 

What You Need To Know

  • Students at Yates Elementary School in Brandon returned to school after Labor Day weekend to no air conditioning

  • The principal sent out messages to parents to come pick up their children early 

  • Hillsborough County Schools said technicians were on site on Tuesday morning trying to get a unit back up and running

  • Terry Johnson, a parent who has two children who attend Yates Elementary, says this wasn’t the first time this school year the air has been out

Air conditioning has been a hot issue for Hillsborough County Schools, with voters even approving a tax referendum in 2018 to fund the replacement and repair of units across the district.

The school district says its technicians were on site at Yates Elementary School on Tuesday morning working on fixing the air conditioning, but Terry Johnson, who has two children who attend Yates Elementary, says this wasn’t the first time this school year the air has been out, and he doubts it will be the last.

Johnson immediately picked his kids up from school on Tuesday when he received the call about the air conditioning being out.

“My daughter got to the office and said, ‘Dad, I’m hot,’ but my daughter has asthma, so that’s a concern. I don’t want her to have an asthma attack because she’s hot in her classroom, because she’s supposed to be safe and secure in her classroom,” he said. 

Johnson says the air conditioning issues at Yates Elementary started before school year did. 

“When we went to orientation, there was no AC. They had the windows open, they had box fans — that’s the school orientation before school starts. You meet the teacher, show kids their classrooms. There was no AC,” he said.

Hillsborough County Schools issued a statement, saying:

“The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority.  Technicians were on site this morning and got one chiller back up and running.  We are waiting for a part from the AC company for the other chiller.  We will run the system 24/7 until the part comes in to keep the classrooms cool.”

Johnson says the students at Yates deserve better, and the quick fixes just aren’t working.  

“They may say there are days it worked and days it doesn’t work. I haven’t noticed it working period. The voicemail told me it worked, and now the voicemail tells me it doesn’t work. The teachers are telling me it doesn’t work because they’re hot every day,” Johnson said. “They need to get it fixed, don’t put a bandage on it.”

The district says while there have been “spotty” issues at Yates, anytime there is an air conditioning issue at a school, technicians are immediately sent to repair it.