COLUMBUS, Ohio — Students at Hayes High School in Delaware County are questioning why they were there Tuesday morning after they were dismissed because of a lack of heat in the building.
Kiley McCann, a senior at the school, said she knew something was off when she walked into school.
“I walked into school and in our main entryway, I knew it was chillier than normal. I walked into my 2nd period and it was frigid,” McCann said.
She said she couldn’t really pay attention in class because it was so cold in the school.
“My teacher could barely even speak, everyone had shaky voices. I could barely touch my paper because it was so cold my hands were frozen,” she said.
McCann said she waited all morning to hear what was happening. School students at 7:25 a.m. and at 10 a.m., the school announced they were dismissing early because a boiler was not working.
"Why are we here in the first place? We spent two hours shaking and freezing and waiting for communication and now, all of a sudden, we can go home," McCann said.
Parents were also frustrated with the situation. Jennifer Steffanni said her child texted her about the temperature in the building, and at first she thought he was joking.
“So I reached out to some other people and was told, 'Yeah, it's freezing in the school,” said Steffanni, parent of a Hayes High School student.
Steffanni said she called the school, and was hearing mixed messages about what was going on.
“When I first called I was told it was fine. There was just one room that had the issue and they weren’t allowing classes in the room. (They said) all the boilers were working, then 30 minutes later I got the call that they were dismissing because boilers weren’t working,” she said.
She hopes the district is more transparent in the future.
“I know its hard to make decisions to cancel school but sometimes yeah you have to do it,” said Steffanni.