LEANDER, Texas — Anita Ward has worked for the Leander Independent School District (LISD) for 18 years as a custodian at Leander Middle School, and she's proud of the work she does and the people she works with.
Summer, however, has settled in, and the 77-year-old said the summer months are incredibly brutal, as custodians like herself are forced to work without air conditioning.
"Before, we had no problems. We had air," Ward said. "Even animals are treated better than we're being treated here."
Ward explained there was a shift over the years when the air used to stay on during the summer, but at some point, Energy Management officials with the district started shutting it off.
Ward said the crew she works with is mostly women, with the youngest of the group in her mid-50s.
The only solution custodians were given by LISD officials was to override the air conditioning system – which doesn't always work, according to Ward.
"You can't even take your clothes off because they're stuck to you because of all the sweat that we're doing. If we weren't sweating, I don't know what condition we would be [in]. Because the sweat is what's keeping us cool," Ward said. "They don't respect us. If they will respect our job – that's all we need, respect for our position. We might be the lowest [on the] totem pole in the district, but respect our position that we're trying to do the very best and cleaning and everything for our school."
Ward said it had gotten so bad that she recently got sick and had to report her illness to the district's human resources department.
Ward said she brought her concerns to administrators who claim they have tried to address it her concerns with higher-ranking officials in the district.
In a June email, leaders with the school claimed to have constantly put in requests to keep the air conditioning on throughout the building. But officials claim to have their hands tied because the decision to control the air conditioning in buildings is ultimately made by the Energy Management Department.
KVUE reached out to the district about the concerns. A spokesperson with LISD provided the following statement:
"We prioritize the safety and wellbeing of our staff through creating conditions that contribute to a positive work environment. While we can’t speak specifically to personnel matters, we are aware of the concerns and have been in contact with our custodial supervisors as well as staff. We take their feedback seriously and are taking actionable steps to ensure their health and safety.
The state of Texas is experiencing a brutal heat wave that is impacting our facilities districtwide. Typically, during the summer months with lower building occupancy, the HVAC temperature setting is raised as an energy savings measure. While any employee can override the system to adjust the temperature, each time an employee pushes the override button, it runs the system for 30 minutes with a maximum of 1.5 hours. Despite these limitations in a system override, Energy Management can adjust the temperature setting when notified of a building’s occupancy. Factoring in the drastic increase in Texas temperatures, we are beginning to see some HVAC system issues. In some cases, parts of a campus are left without appropriate cooling. To respond appropriately, we have a process in place for employees to submit work orders. Our service technicians are addressing any needed repairs as soon as possible.
For any employee facing a warm or hot environment, the district has asked to them to put their health and safety first by seeking shade or cooler temps, taking frequent breaks, and drinking plenty of water. We value our staff and their incredible work. Conversations will continue with our operational support staff and Energy Management to determine the most effective ways to communicate and collaborate during these unfavorably warm temperatures."