Air conditioning similar to this type will be installed in classrooms. This one is found in the “Big House” at PACA. [By Alec Hayashi]
by Alec Hayashi
Thanks to the Walkathon fund-raising efforts, the air conditioning equipment for middle and high school classes will arrive in the next 30 days and installation will be completed in the next 90 days.
Air conditioning at PACA has been a common topic among students and parents who are concerned with the overall heat and continuous heat waves. The PACA administration has taken in consideration the concerns and have made new plans for air conditioning installation.
Timeline for Air Conditioning Installation [by the PACA Administration]
The plan for the installation of air conditioning originally was planned to be installed for the Middle School classes until the end of the school year in June. Plans have now changed and now the High School and Middle School classes will be recieving air conditioning by the end of May.
The secondary classrooms known as H12, H11, H10, H9, H8, M7, M6, Science Lab, 5th grade, 2b, art room are listed in the order in which the air conditioning will be installed in each classroom. This AC installation will occur during the weekends and holidays so that the installations will not disturb the normal workflow of students and teachers.
According to Ricardo Silva, the Financial Director, the air conditioning units will arrive within the next 30 days, after they arrive a third party company will be tasked to complete installation of the AC in all of these classrooms within a 90 day time period.
The necessary modifications to the hydraulics system, wiring and energy source are currently being made. It is a complicated process which requires special attention so that there will be no future problems caused by the AC.
According to the email sent by Kevin Flurry, the Walkathon raised R$132,000 in total and has greatly benefited the AC Installation cause.
The schedule for Elementary classes to receive AC will be next semester 2025, since they are the coolest classes. The Gym (2026) and Offices (2027) will receive the AC last. The reason for this is that the Gym AC will require the most funds, because it will require the biggest renovation, especially to clog the walls, replace the existing fans, and build a new roof.
The office AC is seen as the least priority since the administration understands that the priority is the students.
The machines that will be installed will come from the AC producer “Fujitsu Inverter” because of its high efficiency and low energy consumption. A third-party company will be in charge of installing the equipment, the administration is currently in the process of choosing between 3 companies. The bids are being analyzed right now.
One of the main challenges PACA will face is the increase in energy consumption since PACA currently buys its energy in blocks. The Administration has carefully laid out its plans for this challenge.
As of Wednesday, February 24th, the AC units have been bought.
AC units were delivered to PACA campus on Wednesday, February 26, as reported by the director of finance and operations. [By Ricardo Silva].
The PACA Administration wants to thank everybody for their contribution in the project and asks for their prayers.
If anybody is interested in helping out financially, contact Kevin Flurry ([email protected]).
