LAUSD Faces Backlog Of Repair Calls For A/C Systems Amid Late Summer Heat Wave

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A late summer heat wave is testing the air conditioning systems at schools across the Los Angeles Unified district.

Facing a backlog of about 2,600 repair calls to service classroom A/C systems, the district received about 340 requests for repairs at campuses district-wide on Tuesday, and about 470 calls on Wednesday, according to district officials.

KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports the majority of the requests have come from schools in the San Fernando Valley and in the northwest and northeast portions of the district.

Roger Finstad, the LAUSD's director of maintenance and operations, told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO approximately one to two percent of the district's 30,000 classrooms are experiencing "some kind" of A/C issue.

"Most [schools] are able to move classes if they are affected to another space that is air conditioned until we can get somebody out there to take care of it," said Finstad.

The district has hired outside contractors to deal with the backlog, said Finstad, who expects the number of service calls to drop significantly next week as temperatures begin to cool.

The latest heatwave has also prompted parents of Long Beach students to demand air conditioning in all city classrooms.

CBS2's Dave Lopez said the cost to install air conditioning for all Long Beach classrooms could cost upwards of $700 million.

An online petition is calling for district officials to take action over the roughly 60 percent of schools in Long Beach without functioning A/C systems.

Voters will have to pass a bond to fund the expenditures should such a move be approved by officials.