Parents voice concerns over heating issues at two schools in Country Club Hills

As temperatures continue to drop, parents in a Country Club Hills school district have raised concerns, claiming their children have been learning and studying in cold classrooms.

Parents in Country Club Hills District 160 said conditions inside two of its schools have been detrimental to the students' education.

“I don’t send my kids to school to walk around in his jacket and be cold,” parent Carling Wilson said. “It’s impeding their learning.”

Sequoia Williams learned about the heating problems firsthand from her boys who attend Southwood Middle School and Meadowview Elementary School.

“I asked them what is going on with the heating, and the teacher tells me we had to move out of my classroom because there’s no heat in my room and it’s freezing,” Williams said.

Parents said they’re frustrated over the district’s handling of the situation and questioning why they weren’t notified sooner about the HVAC issues.

“You know we have the option of doing e-learning, why not e-learning until we have the situation under control?” Wilson said.

The principal of Southwood sent an e-mail to parents Monday afternoon and said they’re working to restore heat in rooms affected.  

Williams told NBC Chicago she raised the initial concerns to administrators and even showed up at the district’s office looking for answers from the superintendent.

“My message is they need to do their job, we need them to be transparent and we will not stand down until we get the proper care for our children,” Williams said.

The superintendent of Country Club Hills District 160 did not answer any of our questions, but in an email to parents said in part, “The school district has been working with local HVAC contractors to mitigate those few classrooms to ensure that all equipment was operating properly. All classrooms in all three schools are at the required room temperature of 68 degrees or higher.”

The superintendent confirmed that a small number of classrooms were impacted where the temperatures were not within normal limits.

“This is a state of emergency,” Wilson said. “It is 22 degrees outside—we have small children that are here. It’s just not good.”

Some parents said they’re not buying it and plan to attend the next school board meeting to call for more accountability and transparency.

“We’re hoping to have a room full of parents voice their concerns, because these are very serious concerns,” Williams said.

Country Club Hills District 160 issued the following statement Thursday:

"At Country Club Hills District 160, the safety and well-being of our students and staff are our top priorities. We understand that a safe, supportive learning environment is essential for our students to thrive academically and socially.

Recently, we discovered that the temperature in two of our buildings was below acceptable levels. As soon as this was brought to our attention, we acted immediately to rectify the situation. Our commitment is to ensure that all conditions are optimal for learning and that every individual in our care feels safe and secure.

The school district has proactively worked to ensure that not only the affected classrooms but all learning spaces are maintained at appropriate temperature levels.

On December 4th, licensed Union 597 Pipefitter Service Technicians conducted thorough temperature assessments using precision Fluke temperature probes. In the case of Southwood Middle and Meadowview Intermediary, their skilled technicians carried out essential repairs and adjustments to the equipment servicing several classrooms before taking these measurements. Alongside the readings obtained with their Fluke devices, they also documented the thermostat readings and setpoints for each room.

As of yesterday, we are pleased to report that all classrooms across our three schools are now at or above the required temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit."

The next school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 17^th at 6 p.m. at Southwood Junior High School.