Flying Air Conditioners Spotted
It’s a Bird…..It’s a Plane…Nope….It’s an Air Conditioner!
Last week Mineral Wells ISD replaced 69 air conditioning units at the high school in part of a project that will have 179 AC units in total replaced throughout the District once the project is completed.
The process of installing the units was somewhat unorthodox to most unfamiliar with the procedure. The units were installed using a helicopter to set them on the roof.
Maintenance Director Bobby Mori recently told MWISD School Board that the completion of this install would mean almost the entire district would have new units.
“Anyone thats in construction knows that these units last 8 to 10 years and the units we have are on average, 20 years old. There are some units that are 28 years old at Travis Elementary,” said Mori. “When a unit would go down we were stripping parts to use elsewhere on other units. We were robbing Peter to Paul.”
These repairs have been a long time coming and the project was made possible by an ESSER Grant through the CARES Act.
Congress set aside approximately $13.2 billion of the $30.75 billion allotted to the Education Stabilization Fund through the CARES Act for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER)
This funding provides schools with emergency relief funds to address the impact that Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the nation.
Dr. John Kuhn, MWISD Superintendent, commended the maintenance staff for stretching the life of the units, but said these new units were a one time opportunity for the District to afford the repairs. The cost of the project is $3 Million and was paid for by the Federal Government.
“These funds were justifiable because of air quality and for the prevention of communicable diseases and for keeping fresh air in the classrooms. This was a great use of these funds,” said Kuhn.
“I think this is a project that is going to be here long after most of us are still working here and I’m proud to be a part of the team that made decisions on a project that are gonna outlast me,” Kuhn said.
“This is a savvy use of funds of a one time resource of the ESSER Grant. What that means is that no one will have to spend $3 Million on AC’s for a really long time.”
