A group of parents says several classrooms at the Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy either don’t have air conditioning or don’t cool well enough.
The parents said they’ve been raising the issue since classes started and no one has fixed it.
Nancy Cabrera, the mother of a student who takes music class, said the temperature in that room goes above 84 degrees and that the conditions inside the classroom are suffocating.
“My son, who is part of the school mariachi, says it’s unbearable and they simply can’t learn because they’re not comfortable,” the mother told Telemundo 39 in Spanish.
The woman said she’s working to gather supporters to join her at the next school board meeting in September to resolve the issue.
Grand Prairie school officials sent a statement to NBC 5/Telemundo 39 acknowledging the problem and noting that they are continuing efforts to fix it.
“The district is keenly aware of the HVAC issues related to the geothermal system that cools and heats the Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy building. GPISD continues to work with the City of Grand Prairie to address the overall repair of damage that began in 2024 following a water main issue. Furthermore, subsequent additional damage has caused significant delays in repair.”
The school district said they have not received any reports of any heat-related illness at the school.