PASQUOTANK COUNTY, N.C. — There's something about coming inside from the cold into a warm building during the winter. That's still the case at Pasquotank County High School, but in a slightly limited capacity. The boiler that helps heat the school daily has a leak and will need to be replaced.
“The malfunctions continue to increase every night, and with these temperatures going into the teens, it puts a strain on these mechanical systems to have to work harder than they normally would. And so that lets us know that if we don't initiate this replacement, the repairs are not going to be able to sustain the unit," said Keith Parker, superintendent of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools.
On a daily basis, especially with the frigid temperatures lately, maintenance and facilities crews are checking buildings to ensure heat is flowing.
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"Some of the things we've been doing to ensure our facilities are operating 100% is our maintenance and facilities team is getting up at about 4:30 every morning, and they're inspecting buildings, and they're ensuring that HVAC and heating systems are working when we're running into issues."
The boiler that heats Pasquotank County High School has been in place since the school opened more than 20 years ago. In recent years, it was sustained through repairs, but not anymore.
“We came to realize, through some of our local vendors that we work with on mechanical repairs, that we can identify one available boiler.”
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With only one available right now, the school district's board of education held an emergency meeting to approve the $150,000 to purchase it on Wednesday.
“The supply chain issues that impact anybody across the country—we're not immune to those. So the board acted expeditiously yesterday to be able to approve $150,000. I greatly appreciate the board of education for their quick action yesterday to come together to approve this purchase."
A positive is that the issue hasn’t seriously affected the approximately 650 students still attending school every day.
“Right now, the building has heat. Not in every classroom, but we've been able to relocate students, and that's why we've not been able to close school, thankfully, up to this point.”
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The new boiler will be installed over the next five days, aligning perfectly with next week's holiday and two already built-in teacher workdays, with the hope that this one will serve its purpose just as long, if not longer.
“Our goal is that it'll supply the building for many graduating classes yet to come.”
The $150,000 will come out of ECPPS's Capital Operating Budget, which comes from funding from the Pasquotank County Board of Commissioners.
"Because of their gracious support, we're able to make these purchases right now, and it's not going to offset operations in any way."
