Retired Teachers to Receive Athletic Passes, Westview Starts School Year with HVAC Issues

The Weakley County School Board approved athletic passes for retired teachers in the Weakley County School District at their September board meeting.

“We've been approaching trying to provide that first for our retired teachers that retired from our county. Again, we've talked to our principals a little bit as far as any impact that may have. You know, you're a smaller school and you need every dime at a gate to operate. But they're in agreement that this could work. It would just be in the one, so it's not your family and your aunt's wife's removed or any of that. It's just you,” Director of Weakley County Schools Jeff Cupples stated.

Cupples referred to the passes for retirees as a “perk” and a thank you for what teachers did for the kids in the school district.

Cupples also brought up that the HVAC system at Westview has been down for going on three weeks with the oil pump and strainer needing to be replaced to get the system back up and running. The problem, according to Cupples, is getting the parts from Carrier, the maker of the system.

The timeline Cupples received from Trane was 38 weeks and with it being the middle of September, Cupples questioned whether it was worth $30,000 to spend on something that won’t be needed.

Some of the rooms at Westview have started to hit upwards of 80 degrees during the hottest days, according to Cupples.

“I even looked up what are typical kind of ranges. What I've looked at in a few government specs was 65 to 79. So we're not far outside of what we consider comfortable range, depending on your personal preference. But we do have some that are hitting 80 or 81. The temperature right now looks like we're gonna have a couple of 90 days for the next long forecast,” Cupples stated.

Cupples even said that it has gotten to the point where a couple of the classes kids are not coming to school due to the heat.

“So it’s affecting education in Weakley County at this point,” Cupples stated.

Fans have been provided for the cafeteria and in some of the classrooms as well as industrial fans that try to draw cool air through the building so Cupples said they are trying to accommodate as best they can.

Cupples stated that he wasn’t giving up and would keep the board posted.

The next regularly scheduled board meeting is set for October 3 at 5 p.m. at Dresden Elementary School.