Duval County Public Schools will increase its maintenance budget to $40 million for the 2026-27 school year, more than double the previous $17 million budget, after logging roughly 1,300 air-conditioning repair requests in the first 10 school days of classes.

Jim Culbert, DCPS chief of operations and technology services, announced the funding increase at a Friday, Aug. 21, news conference, calling conditions students and staff endured since school opened Monday, Aug. 10, “unacceptable.”

“Every year, we’re going to be doing between six and eight schools, complete HVAC tear-out, renovation and replacement,” Culbert told reporters.

Six schools have been selected for full A/C system replacements this year. The district has not publicly identified the campuses selected, and it remains unclear whether any Beaches-area schools, including Fletcher High School, Mayport Coastal Sciences Middle School or local elementary schools, are among them.

The district also plans to add another $10 million to the maintenance budget the following school year, according to News4JAX.news4jax

Staffing shortage compounded crisis

Superintendent Christopher Bernier told the School Board on Wednesday, Aug. 19, that the number of in-house HVAC technicians had dropped from 40 to about a dozen over several years, crippling the district’s ability to respond to breakdowns during the heat wave.staffingintel

To bridge the gap, DCPS created a dedicated HVAC service desk that dispatches technicians in real time based on priority and purchased portable “spot coolers” that can be delivered to schools with urgent needs. Culbert said the district prioritizes repairs when an entire school’s system fails or when special-needs classrooms are affected.

By Friday morning, Aug. 21, Culbert said only five or six classrooms districtwide still lacked working air conditioning, though he acknowledged new problems could still arise.

Half-penny frustration

School Board Chair Charlotte Joyce voiced her frustration at the Aug. 19 meeting that voters approved a half-penny sales tax in November 2020 specifically to address maintenance backlogs, yet A/C systems remained broken nearly six years later.

“My frustration is we passed the half-penny sales tax and our air conditioners are still not working,” Joyce said.

The district’s Master Facility Plan directs voluntary half-penny sales-tax revenue toward capital and construction projects, including renovations, upgrades, new school construction and consolidations. The current plan was approved by the School Board on Oct. 1, 2024, and an independent Citizen Oversight Committee monitors spending from the surtax. DCPS recordsduvalschools

District-wide AC system evaluations to come

Starting in September, the district will evaluate every school’s chiller — the unit that cools water pumped to air handlers — and repair or replace units as needed, Jacksonville.com reported.

For Monday, Aug. 24, the National Weather Service forecast highs in the mid- to upper 90s across Northeast Florida, with heat-index values of 105 to 109 degrees possible. Temperatures are expected to remain above normal through the week, although highs are forecast to fall to the low 90s beginning Tuesday.forecast.weather

Beaches families seeking updates on specific school conditions can contact DCPS’ HVAC service desk or check with their school’s front office.