By Jack Duarte and Daniel DeAvila
Many people are confused on why the Soccer and Basketball season have been switched this school year, well I have the answer. In the EPISD District most of the high school and middle schools have swamp cooler air conditioners and they are old. This has caused the need for new air conditioners. The new air conditioners, heating , and ventilation systems (HVAC) that the schools will get are going to be installed in January when basketball season usually begins. This would have been a problem, so the El Paso Independent School District decided to switch the basketball season with soccer season because soccer is an outside sport and basketball is an inside sport.
Editor’s Note (Mr. Moreno): Canyon Hills Middle School will be one of over 20 schools in El Paso that will undergo HVAC upgrades.
Other schools affected will be Bobby Joe Hill PK-8 School, Tinajero PK-8 School, Brown Middle School, Charles Middle School, Guillen Middle School, Hornedo Middle School, Magoffin Middle School, Nolan Richardson Middle School, Wiggs Middle School, Andress High School, Austin High School, Bowie High School, Burges High School, Coronado High School, El Paso High School, Franklin High School, Franklin High School Ninth Grade Center, Irvin High School, Jefferson High School, Young Women’s Academy.
The district wide HVAC Upgrade Project includes $59,000,000 in ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funding to revamp HVAC systems and will also make them energy-efficient while improving the indoor air quality and circulation.
Cafeteria operations will also be affected during the construction. According to EPISD breakfast and lunch meals will be prepared and packaged at a separate campus/facility and transported to the schools.
According to EPISD, those campuses that will be receiving HVAC upgrades early 2024, which will require the kitchen and cafeteria to be temporarily closed until construction is complete. Construction will take several months. Construction at Canyon Hills is set to begin January 24, 2024. Meals for our Canyon Hills students and staff will be prepared at Chapin High School.
EPISD HVAC Upgrade Cafeteria Menu Information: https://www.episd.org/Page/337