‘It’s inhumane' | Claiborne Co. parents frustrated over lack of heat inside kindergarten classroom

SPEEDWELL, Tenn. (WVLT) - In Claiborne County, school district leaders said there’s been an ongoing issue with the heating unit at Powell Valley Elementary School.

It’s been an issue that Assistant Director of Schools Meagan England said started in the fall and has persisted through the cold weeks of January and February.

“My son is coming home with finger pains and his feet hurt from being so cold, and that’s just ridiculous,” said parent Jessica Slover. “It’s inhumane that our children are there sitting in the cold.”

The heating unit impacts two classes of kindergarteners, which has 37 total students. England said that for months, the heating unit had been working off and on every few hours and days.

In late January, England said that the issue became worse, and the longest stretch where those classrooms went without heat was the entire week of Valentine’s Day.

“The administration worked with maintenance teams to diagnose and repair the heating system. In the meantime, alternative arrangements were made for the affected classes,” said England.

England added that once an issue was realized with the unit, they were able to relocate students impacted to another part of the school where the heat was working.

Parents, like Slover, said that even with moving to another classroom, there were still hours when her child was in a cold classroom during some of the coldest days of the year.

“He was asking to wear thicker clothing to school. He should not have to wear a Carhart-sized jacket sitting in a classroom,” said Slover.

England said there is a new part to help fix the heating unit that’s been ordered which helps to make a more permanent fix to the inconsistent heat moving forward.