ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It’s a new school year for Albuquerque students, but the district is still dealing with the same old problem – hot classrooms.

KOB 4 has been hearing from teachers, parents and students who say there are many Albuquerque Public Schools buildings and classrooms without working cooling systems.

Teachers we talked to Wednesday say it is near impossible to work and learn in those types of conditions.

We’ve heard from folks from seven different APS schools so far that cooling units are not working.

APS has not confirmed how many schools are having issues or how many HVAC systems they’re working on. But students and parents at Petroglyph Elementary say it’s a problem there.

“Yeah, being in the classroom was pretty hard because I was sweating a lot,” said Kyle Bailey, a fifth grader. 

“They really need to get the A/C and swamp coolers working, their ducks in a row before school,” said Matthew Pratt, a parent. 

This is something we get calls about every single year. And every single year, we ask what is it going to take for teachers, staff, and students comfortable and safe from the heat?

Ellen Bernstein with the Albuquerque Teachers Federation blames some of it on the aging infrastructure, and that many schools use swamp coolers. 

Even when a system is working properly, it can only cut the heat by 15 to 20 degrees. If we’re talking about 90-degree days, it is still very uncomfortable.

“Teaching conditions are learning conditions. We need to make sure we have a way to modernize our school buildings. So that no matter what the season, we can all be comfortable. It really helps learning, it really matters,” said Bernstein. 

Bernstein says the Albuquerque Teachers Union does work to make sure cooling issues do not go overlooked. So she asks teachers to reach out about those problems.

Albuquerque Public Schools says it has invested millions in HVAC upgrades in recent years. Bernstein backs that up, saying they have actually had fewer complaints this year than in years past.

The recently approved APS Mill Levy will also help fund some of those HVAC replacements and repairs. But that’s not much relief for the students and teachers stuck in those hot classrooms right now.

Some schools have been fighting working cooling systems for years and years.

APS sent the following statement to KOB 4 Thursday :

“We have crews all over the city working on cooling unit issues. They’re working through the day and into the evening to correct any malfunctioning units, and they’re working  seven days a week. While some of our schools have had air conditioners go down, we don’t have any schools where the entire system has failed. At those schools where a cooling unit has gone down, if the air conditioning unit cannot be fixed the same day we’re asking principals to move affected classrooms to the parts of the building where it’s cooler.  APS is also bringing in cooling units if parts need to be ordered.”