Parents call for action as suburban students endure freezing classrooms

COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. - Parents in a south suburban school district are hot under the collar, after the heat went out in at least two schools.

Country Club Hills School District 160 officials are scrambling to fix the problem. But some parents say classes should have gone to remote learning, rather than let students shiver in school.

"Last week, my son came home and he said, ‘hey mom, it’s so cold, we have to wear coats in school,’" said one concerned parent.

At Southwood Middle School in Country Club Hills, many of the students heading home in freezing temperatures had already been wearing their winter wear all day.

"It was super, super cold in there," a sixth grade student said.

Since temperatures plunged last week, parents say both Southwood and Meadowview Elementary in District 160 have been struggling to turn up the heat.

"This is a safety concern that we have right now for our children," said parent Sequoia Williams. "And we need answers, and we need them immediately."

Some parents say the buildings were so cold on Monday that they decided to take action and pull their children out of school.

"Because there was no heat in the building," said parent Tisha Williams. "And I received a phone call from my children that they were extremely cold."

FOX 32 spotted a work truck for a heating company parked outside one side of the middle school, and a car for the Country Club Hills building department parked on the other.

But parents say they’re getting few answers from the district about this or other problems with the buildings.

"I think it’s a lack of communication and bad management. And I think it’s time for people to start stepping down," said Tisha Williams.

FOX 32 went to District 160 headquarters but we were told the superintendent was too busy to talk. An aide said the lack of heat "is being addressed."

But parent Raven Logan said they deserve immediate answers.

"Given that we’re going into winter and it’s only going to get colder, it’s unacceptable, especially with all the money that comes into this community."

In a statement released on Wednesday, the district said, "The school district has been working with local HVAC contractors to mitigate those few classrooms to ensure that all equipment was operating properly. All classrooms in all three schools are at the required room temperature of 68 degrees or higher."

Still, on Wednesday, some local parents spoke to the news media to voice their frustration with how the district has handled the heating issues.

"This is alarming, even the message they handed out, they are not being honest," said Sequoia Williams, a parent. "That is scary."