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September 5, 2024
GLPS Families,
Now that the dust has settled, and we are running full days of school at the high school again, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a sense of what caused the problem last week, as well as what the district team did to address it. Transparency is important, and it is important to me that you know that we take these situations seriously. So, here is a timeline of events, starting with the bond:
2018 - The community passed the current bond proposals that resulted in construction across the district. Included in that proposal was a complete overhaul of the high school HVAC system, which was installed in 1997. The first projects within the overall bond were at Beagle and Holbrook, because those were necessary to complete in order to enact the district’s grade restructuring initiative, which moved kindergartners back to their neighborhood schools, reopened Holbrook as an elementary school, and centralized a secondary campus at Beagle and the high school. And, while there has been additional construction that has happened in the high school since, those projects were associated with the safe and secure entrances, which was a priority at all of our buildings.
2022 - Coming out of the pandemic, the administrative team and the board prioritized bond projects based on impact and funds available because of increased construction costs. The new Wacousta Elementary School was identified as the top priority, followed by the high school HVAC replacement. That list can be found here.
2023 - The high school HVAC project was redesigned, because contractors identified that the project was too large to be completed over one summer, and the lead times on ordering new chillers would not allow them to be delivered and installed in time to be operational for the 2024-2025 school year. Therefore, it was split into two segments, with half to be completed in the summer of 2024, and half to be completed in the summer of 2025.
Spring of 2024 - The district repaired and cleaned multiple components within the system to ensure efficiency and operability. Other than one breakdown in early June, the system worked much better after those repairs.
Summer of 2024 - Over the summer, internal components, including pipes and vents in half the classrooms, were replaced, with the other half slated to be replaced in the summer of 2025. The system was shut off while this work was completed.
August of 2024 - The system was turned back on, and tested throughout the month. Up until Saturday, August 24th, it was working well, and the building was cool.
The Week of August 25th - On Saturday, August 25th, high heat and humidity caused the chiller to overload and shut down. By the time the maintenance team got it running again, building temperatures were in the 80’s with high humidity. Throughout Sunday and Monday, the unit could not catch back up, as outdoor temperatures and humidity continued to climb, resulting in continued high heat and humidity inside the high school. By Wednesday morning, overnight temperatures allowed the spaces to cool somewhat, but afternoon heat and humidity brought temperatures back up into the 80’s throughout the building with high humidity. The unit overloaded numerous times throughout the week, and the operations team monitored it hourly, 24 hours a day, to keep it running. We also purchased 20 room air conditioners to help, but their delivery was delayed until Thursday. In order to ensure that there was a long-term plan in place that was not dependent upon the weather, the team reached out to vendors to inquire about a temporary replacement chiller and arranged to receive quotes from multiple companies by Tuesday, September 3rd.
Saturday, August 31st - The chiller overloaded overnight, and shut down again. The maintenance team could not get it started, so they called in a repair company who diagnosed the issue. The unit needed a new starter, and the parts would take a couple of weeks to arrive. So, the district team reached out to the vendors for the temporary replacement to expedite quotes.
Monday, September 2nd - The team received multiple quotes for a temporary replacement chiller, and gave the go ahead for Trane to deliver one. It was sent from New Jersey overnight.
Tuesday, September 3rd - Cool overnight and daytime temperatures, coupled with low humidity, allowed the operations team to capture cool outside air to cool the building throughout the day. The temporary replacement chiller arrived from New Jersey at around 12:30 pm, and contractors began the process of hooking it up. The final component needed for the hook-up was slated to be delivered Wednesday morning.
Wednesday, September 4th - Again, cool overnight and daytime temperatures allowed the building to stay cool using outside air. The final component arrived in the morning, and the hook-up of the temporary unit was completed at 12:30 pm, and the unit began running. The final, permanent system will be bigger, so it will work even better, but this temporary solution will be adequate to cool the building, and most importantly, will run efficiently enough that it will not continually overload or shutdown. The unit is located in the back of the building by the baseball field in a fenced-in area; we ask that students, families, and communities stay clear of the area, but students can still park in the band lot and utilize the Door 14 entrance.
Moving forward, because the temporary unit is in place, we can expedite the bond work, including demo of the old chiller, which will help with the timeline of having the new, permanent system up and running by the end of the summer of 2025. The new chiller should be onsite by the middle of February, and the contractors will begin work on the installation upon their arrival.
We appreciate your patience as we have navigated this challenge, and we look forward to having a fully completed HVAC system replacement by the beginning of next school year. A huge thank you goes out to operations supervisor Kyle Root and the operations team, as well as bond supervisor John Piper, for their work in helping to move this project along and get us to a place where we can count on our system to cool our building. Another huge thank you goes out to deputy superintendent Steve Gabriel and high school principal Ken Wright for their leadership in navigating this situation, as well as the high school students and staff for their patience and enduring the temperature uncertainty. Have a great rest of the week; as always, I am #proudtobeacomet!
Dr. Bill Barnes
Superintendent of Schools
