SCCPSS addresses air conditioning issues at Jenkins High School during heat wave

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System is working to resolve air conditioning issues at Jenkins High School after viewers reached out to WTOC with concerns about classroom temperatures.

According to school district officials, Jenkins High School has experienced intermittent HVAC issues affecting portions of the building over the past several weeks. While cooling has been restored to some of those areas, a portion of the second-floor wing continues to experience warmer-than-normal conditions during the current regional heat wave.

SCCPSS Chief of Operations Megan Davidson stated that maintenance staff and the district’s HVAC contractor are actively working onsite to identify the root cause of the problem and restore full service.

To speed up the repair process, the district located a critical replacement component outside of Chatham County. A district employee has been dispatched to retrieve the part directly rather than waiting for a standard delivery next week.

Temporary Measures and Water Access

As repairs continue, district staff are monitoring classroom temperatures and relocating portable cooling units to the affected spaces as needed. District officials currently have work orders active for four specific classrooms at Jenkins High.

Responding to viewer concerns regarding access to water for students, school officials confirmed that all drinking stations and bottle fillers remain fully operational throughout the school building.

At this time, operations staff cannot confirm whether the outage is a standard mechanical failure or if it was caused by the extreme summer temperatures.

“Our priority is to maintain appropriate learning conditions while restoring normal cooling as quickly as possible,” the district said in a statement.

The district plans to continue monitoring conditions and making adjustments as needed. WTOC will update this story as repairs progress.