Wenatchee HS Has Air Conditioning Problems As Classes Start

Students return to class at Wenatchee High School Tuesday, when temperatures will likely be in the mid to upper 90's, and parts of the campus will lack air conditioning.

Interim district superintendent Bill Eagle told the school board this week that Wenatchee High's HVAC system is experiencing leaks and other problems, which is affecting the east side of the campus.

He said staff members are working to limit the area where there'll be a lack of air conditioning.

"We're optimistic that, other than potentially the library area at Wenatchee High School, the HVAC in the rest of the east side of the high school, we think will be up and running for school next week," said Eagle.

He thinks air conditioning is a long-term problem at Wenatchee High, and said federal grants to completely replace the system may become available in December or January.

Some air conditioning upgrades were made in 1993, but the HVAC system from the 1970's is largely still in place.

Eagle said the system is showing its age. "The vintage 1970's coils and condensing units are well beyond their life expectancy," Eagle said. "As a result, our (maintenance) team has been experiencing increased frequency of equipment failures caused by refrigerant leaks in some of the older coils and piping."

Eagle also said replacement parts are becoming hard to get for the system that was installed close to 50 years ago.

He said he'd share a full set of options to deal with the HVAC problem at Wenatchee High during an upcoming school board meeting.