SAN ANTONIO – There was no warm welcome waiting as students at Highlands High School returned from their holiday break Tuesday morning.
Instead, some said things were downright frigid inside their classrooms and hallways.
“Once I got in the main hallway, it was freezing,” Alyssa Weaver said. “It was really cold. I’m shivering and shaking. I can’t concentrate and do my work at all.”
Weaver chose to leave school early and head for the warmth of her home.
After receiving several emails with similar complaints about a lack of heat at the school, KSAT reached out to the San Antonio Independent School District for a comment.
An SAISD spokesperson issued a written statement explaining there was a mechanical issue with the building’s HVAC system, but it had been repaired by 7 a.m.
The statement stated that, due to the size of the building, it would take a while to warm up.
Still, as late as 10 a.m., Jasmine Armijo said she felt the effects.
She had brought a blanket from home, hoping to use it to warm up.
“I mean, it didn’t make it feel better,” Armijo said. “It was so cold.”
Armijo said she left school early, in the company of her mother, Lucy Vasquez, for reasons other than the lack of heat.
However, Vasquez said she worries about what might happen in the coming days as cold temperatures, and possible rain, continue.
“It won’t be good for them,” Vasquez said. “(The heating problems) happened last year too. It’s always happening. You would think they would get it done quicker.”
Vasquez referred to a situation that KSAT covered in January 2024.
During a cold snap at that time, SAISD shut down all its campuses due to heating problems at several schools.
On Monday, the district issued a statement that stated all schools would be ready for this week’s cold weather.
According to the statement, all problems had been repaired during the summer, and an inspection was done at all campuses this past weekend.
KSAT requested an on-camera interview about the latest problems at Highlands High School. However, after sending the written statement, a spokeswoman did not respond to the interview request or answer any follow-up questions.