It was not really cool in the beginning. That notion is changing at this moment.
Hours after a spirited discussion at last night’s School Board meeting over the ban on certain air conditioners at Farragut Elementary, the School District issued a temperature-altering order late this morning.
In the words of Mike Reynolds, assistant superintendent for business:
Effective immediately, the seven air conditioners donated last year by Farragut parents for that number of classrooms may be turned on.
[img]1705|right|Mike Reynolds||no_popup[/img]“Apparently in the past, and until now,” Mr. Reynolds, in his first full school year, told the newspaper, “there has been a policy prohibiting the use of air conditioners. No one I have talked to knows where it came from.”
Cool, refreshing breezes should be wafting across seven Farragut classrooms for the students’ afternoon learning pleasure.
As a result, Mr. Reynolds pledged to expedite the inspection process.
At 11:55 this morning, Mr. Reynolds and two District officials, an air conditioning specialist and Mike Corrigan, director of operations, left Irving Place to undertake an investigation of the units.
In the company of an air conditioning contractor and Mr. Corrigan, Mr. Reynolds had planned a three-step status check of the donated Farragut air conditioners later this week.
Instead, at the lunch hour, they were ascertaining the following.
1. Make sure they are safe, non-threatening to anyone’s health.
2. Make sure they were correctly installed.
3. Make sure they are in the proper working order.
In the meantime, the District disclosed that it is making serious-sized fans available for all teachers interested in making their classrooms more comfortable.
One hundred already have been distributed, Mr. Reynolds said. He anticipates that many more will go out the rest of this week.
