Chants of “Do your job” rang out at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School Friday morning, as dozens of students, teachers and parents rallied outside before classes to insist Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) follow through on its promise to replace the Silver Spring school’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system amid issues with extreme temperatures and mold.
“The staff and students who wake up every morning and come into this building ready to teach and learn know the truth. … We are the ones who sweat bullets and slip on our tile floors one day because of the heat and humidity, but then have to bundle up the next,” Camilla Barillas, a seventh grade English teacher, said to the crowd. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about kids, it’s they never forget when you make a promise.”
A number of other schools have also faced challenges with maintenance, including Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville, whose theater ceiling crumbled mid-performance in March.
MCPS spokesperson Liliana López said in a statement Friday that the delays were due to a manufacturer experiencing a shortage of materials and chemicals needed to complete the HVAC units. Due to the installation occurring on the rooftop, it can’t occur during school hours for safety reasons, and installation is scheduled to begin after the school year ends in June, with a target completion date in July. As of Friday, 21 of the 26 HVAC units needed have been delivered to the contractor, López said.
“We acknowledge the frustration caused by delays in the HVAC replacement project at Loiederman,” López said. “Our facilities team will closely monitor progress to ensure the project remains on schedule.”
At the May 8 school board meeting, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor said that changes at the federal level and tariffs that have been imposed have impacted supply chains and the district’s ability to obtain replacement parts.
“We are absolutely understanding of the concern. We agree with the concern,” Taylor said at the meeting following public testimony about Loiederman’s HVAC issues. “We’re working as fast as we can, and we know that some of our campuses are completely untenable. And we have prioritized them.”
MCPS has been promising a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for more than a year, social studies teacher Joshua Rubin told Bethesda Today on Friday. Initially, Rubin said, the school was told a new system would be installed in the summer of 2024. Then it was delayed until the winter of 2024. Then it was supposed to be fixed by spring break. Building services staff had even planned to work during the break to assist with the installation, Rubin said, but the project was delayed at the last minute.
“Now they’re saying it’ll be done by the summer,” Rubin said. “July 3 is the date that they’ve given us, and we’d like them to hold to that.”
In that time, the school has dealt with inside temperatures reaching as low as 40 degrees and as high as 90 degrees, odd smells, mold throughout the building and moisture collecting on floors and desks, Rubin said. The past week alone, Rubin said, the school had to be evacuated twice due to HVAC issues.
At the beginning of the school year, Rubin told the crowd, furniture had to be thrown away and replaced due to the mold on it. At the Friday morning rally, teachers displayed mold samples collected from different classrooms.
“People are frustrated about the lack of communication,” Rubin told Bethesda Today. “They’re frustrated about the working environment and the kids’ learning environment.”
For students, the extreme temperatures have made it difficult to concentrate and the mold has made them feel sick.
“It kind of makes it hard for me to breathe and focus, too, especially when I was taking the MCAP test,” seventh grader Marley Pierre said, referring to the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program testing students must take annually. “Sometimes I would get stressed out and stuff because I was sweating and it was really difficult to do the test.”
Marley’s mother, Tashaun Pierre, said her daughter has been sick much more often this school year than she has in previous years, and that if she knew staff had to throw out furniture due to mold contamination, her daughter “would not have come to the school.”
Sixth grader Ruby Houghton attended the rally with her dad, Aaron Houghton, who teaches sixth and seventh grade social studies at the school. She said the most recent issues have impacted her taking tests at the end of the school year.
“I know that there are students that have issues with breathing because of the mold. It’s very hard to focus and stay on task when its 80, 85 degrees in the room and extremely hot,” Aaron Houghton said. “Students are very uncomfortable, and this is not a safe learning environment, especially when people in central office, I’m sure, have air conditioning.”
Both Barillas and Rubin told the crowd they were hoping that change could be implemented and a cycle of promises and delays would end.
“I just want them to follow through on their timeline and commit to more transparency if something happens,” Rubin told Bethesda Today. “We know there are supply chain issues, but if something happens, tell us. Tell us immediately, so that we’re informed and we’re not feeling like the rug is being pulled out from under us over and over and over again.”
