Wenatchee High School will have a late start on August 31, after crews replace the school’s 50-year-old air conditioning system.

Students from grades 9-12 will start school at 10:10 a.m. On Tuesday, 9th graders will attend their orientation at their originally scheduled time.

The orientation will be held in areas not affected by the broken HVAC system.

The school will use helicopters to install the new system onto the roof. No one will be allowed in the building during installation.

The east side of the student parking lot, the bus ramp, and the staff parking lot south of the building will be closed until about 9:30 a.m.

Wenatchee School District Communications Director Diana Haglund said staff tried fixing the HVAC system, however there is currently a lack in replacement parts necessary to keep the unit.

Haglund also shared that Salcido Connection helped replace the new unit.

The National Weather Service projects Wednesday to have a high of 101 degrees.

Staff will monitor indoor temperatures and limit access to warm parts of the building.

Crews will continue working on the cooling system throughout the week. 

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