Worker: Overbrook school's annex without heat
Staff member at Overbrook Educational Center said the school's annex has not had heat for a week; central office said it was unaware.
THE WEATHER outside is frightful and it's apparently not much better inside for students, faculty and staff at an Overbrook school.
Pupils and teachers at Overbrook Educational Center Annex, on Lansdowne Avenue near 68th Street, have not had heat for a week, with temperatures in the building dipping into the 40s, according to a staff member.
"The kids are still over there suffering and the principal's in her warm office. She's in the main building," the employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal, said yesterday.
According to the staffer, the heating problem has not affected the main building, but first- and second-graders in the annex have been forced to keep their coats on, and teachers have complained to the principal. The employee said parents have not been informed of the situation.
A spokeswoman at the School District of Philadelphia said the district's Facilities and Operations Department had not received complaints about the heating problem, but would reach out to the principal to resolve the issue. Principal Tamika Ruley could not immediately be reached for comment.
Local temperatures in the past week have hovered around the freezing mark as the region has experienced a cold snap. The frigid weather is expected to last until Friday when warmer air is expected to arrive.
Heating problems are nothing new in the district's aging facilities. In February, the heat was out in much of Samuel B. Huey Elementary School in West Philadelphia for about two weeks, the Inquirer reported. Several schools are also not equipped with air conditioning.