SAN ANTONIO – As San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) students prepare to head back to school in a few days, air conditioning is finally being installed in classrooms that have long struggled with uncomfortable temperatures.
SAISD has faced challenges with hot classrooms in the warmer months and freezing conditions in the winter due to outdated heating and cooling systems.
But recent upgrades are set to improve the environment for students and staff.
>> TIMELINE: San Antonio ISD heating and cooling issues
Steven Rodriguez, SAISD ‘s director of mechanical, electrical and plumbing, makes sure that lights, heating, air conditioning and plumbing function properly across the district’s more than 90 campuses.
However, the district’s age — over 125 years — means that many of its systems are outdated and in need of replacement.
Many campuses still operate on a “two-pipe system,” a type of HVAC equipment dating back to the 1970s, Rodriguez said. These aging systems have been a priority for upgrades funded by recent bond measures.
In 2020, voters approved a historic $1.3 billion bond, and since then, SAISD has allocated $77 million to improve HVAC systems in 41 campuses. An additional $27.3 million is planned for upgrades to 12 more campuses by 2028.
Yvonne Little, Senior Executive Director of Capital Development & Construction Services, oversees the bond money and explains that upgrades take time due to the age of the buildings and long lead times for acquiring major HVAC components, often taking up to a year to complete.
“We probably have about 20 campuses that will approach the end of their life cycle within the next two years,” Little said.
As a result, maintenance teams like Rodriguez’s continuously work to keep systems functioning effectively.
This school year, students at Lanier and Edison High Schools will benefit from upgraded, cooler campuses. Highlands High School is next in line for these improvements.
Twelve campuses have had or are currently having major renovations to include HVAC:
- Brackenridge HS
- New Schenck ES
- Lanier HS
- Highland Hills ES
- Rogers MS
- Longfellow MS
- Fox Tech HS
- Jefferson HS
- Edison HS
- Young Women’s Leadership Academy, Secondary
- Highlands HS
- CAST MED HS
Other HVAC components replacements/upgrades that are complete:
- Ball Academy
- Baskin ES
- Beacon Hill Academy
- Brisco ES
- Cooper @ Navarro
- Cooper Academy
- DeZavalla ES
- Democracy Prep
- Estrada Achievement Center
- Forbes ES (Steele)
- Foster Academy
- Franklin ES
- Green ES
- Harris MS
- Herff ES
- Hot Wells MS
- Kelly Academy @ Lowell
- Margil ES
- Maverick ES
- Miller ES
- Mission Academy
- Neal ES
- Pershing ES
- Rodriguez ES
- Travis Early College
- Whittier MS
- Wilson ES
- Woodlawn Hills ES
- Young Men’s Leadership Academy
- Carvajal
HVAC upgrades are currently under design for:
- New MLK
- ALA Euclid
- Burbank Gyms
- Collins Garden
- Smith Steele @ Forbes
- Bonham
- Madison
- Neal Rhodes
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