Schools heat up as refrigeration fails

School air conditioners are working overtime -- and occasionally shutting down -- as summer temperatures in the Las Vegas Valley soar.

At Marc Kahre Elementary School in northwest Las Vegas, air conditioners sputtered all last week, leaving six classrooms without cool air. Workers were still laboring feverishly on Friday to fix the failing units but had them up and running when students returned today from the long weekend.

"Students had their water bottles all week," Principal Glenda Plaster said. "We do the best we can with the situation."

Plaster said the units that cool the southwest area of the building were down for five days. Several teachers worked in the hallways and doubled up with teachers in cooler areas of the building. One of the air conditioners that cools the school's multipurpose room also broke down but was fixed within a day.

Clark County has 85 year-round elementary and middle schools, where teachers barrel ahead with lessons during the summer months.

Kahre is just the most recent case of a school with a struggling air conditioning system.

"This time of year we get periods of time when an air conditioner doesn't come on in the morning or something doesn't work right," Pat Herron, assistant superintendent of facilities, said. "This 100-plus-degree heat puts a real strain on the air conditioning equipment."

Air conditioners have to work harder the hotter it gets outside.

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