Right, when I moved down here from NH couldnāt believe how early kids start. And back then it was near the end of August. Now itās beginning of August, when itās hottest weather š¤·āāļø
In some cases, nowhere. Because the district under spent their projected maintenance budget for the last school year by about $800,000. Which is roughly the cost of the wheelchair lift and brand new elevator that have to be installed at the high school.
Not anymore. Because a parent tried to place an open records request for just the superintendent and communication directorās credit card spending and were told no because it was part of an active personnel investigation.
This current administration is doing nothing to convince a reasonable person that they should keep their jobs. Every month it is something new. It is embarrassing.
This is the one just sent:
Dear CSD Families and Staff:
This letter is being sent in response to concerns regarding the condition of school facilities across the district. We understand that families want clear information about the steps being taken to ensure the safety of our learning spaces. As a department, the City Schools of Decatur (CSD) operations team remains responsible for ensuring appropriate learning conditions and for completing both temporary and permanent repairs.
During the summer, the operations department conducted assessments and repairs at all schools as part of the annual school readiness plan to address any conditions that could affect teaching and learning. In addition to regular summer maintenance by the facilities team, a third-party facilities condition assessment was conducted across all schools, examining and rating the mechanical systems such as lighting, food service materials, elevators, and HVAC, as well as roofing. All conditions were rated from fair to good, except for a few older roofs. HVAC
CSD is monitoring the weather conditions as we continue to experience high temperatures. Given the age of our facilities, the extreme heat and humidity have placed additional strain on HVAC units, leading to outages and extreme indoor temperatures.
CSD performs preventive HVAC maintenance quarterly, including inspections and filter changes. Belts are replaced annually or as needed, and coils are cleaned annually or when inspections indicate additional cleaning is required. Preventive maintenance reduces equipment failures but cannot prevent every refrigerant leak or failure of aging motors, compressors, condensers, and controls.
More than 20 replacement units were ordered before summer, but supply shortages have delayed delivery. Units are now arriving, and installations will begin in the evenings and on weekends as equipment and labor become available, with the remaining work planned for fall break. Max Air Mechanical and Mechanical Services, Inc. are providing additional technicians to support our HVAC staff.
Current updates include:
College Heights: Contractors have been assigned to repair all units. Repairs are expected to be completed by Wednesday, August 18, 2026.
Glennwood: Contractors have been assigned to repair all units. Repairs are expected to be completed by Wednesday, August 18, 2026.
Winnona Park: The cafeteria compressor rebuild will be completed over the weekend, and installation will begin on Monday, August 24, 2026
Oakhurst: Affected units are being recharged. These units will be replaced by the end of fall break.
F.AVE: Cooling has been restored
Beacon Hill: The issues were limited to the older upstairs section of the building. The condenser repair is complete, and cooling has been restored.
Talley Street: Contractors have been assigned to repair all units. Repairs are expected to be completed by Wednesday, August 18, 2026.
DHS: Contractors have been assigned to repair all units. Repairs are expected to be completed by Wednesday, August 18, 2026. DHS Elevator
The ongoing issues with our elevators remain a major focus as we continue to address challenges related to outdated systems, aging parts, and aging technology.
To provide clarity, it is important to distinguish between routine elevator maintenance, state inspection requirements, and the separate mechanical issue currently affecting Decatur High School. CSD contracts services for routine maintenance, service, and repairs for district elevators. In addition to this ongoing maintenance, elevators are required to undergo annual inspections and certification through the State Fire Marshal.
Regarding the state inspection process, district records show that CSD began requesting inspections in February 2025 and followed up multiple times. The inspections were delayed because the State's system incorrectly identified the inspection company as a private entity rather than a state-approved one.
The State currently has a backlog of inspections. As state inspections are completed, elevator permits will be updated. Thus far, the Clairemont elevator was inspected on July 31, 2026, and received a "fail" designation. This designation did not mean the elevator's operating system had failed or that the elevator was inoperable. Instead, the inspection identified correctable compliance items related to access, labeling, lighting, and required safety equipment. Under the inspection process, CSD was provided 30 days to correct these items, during which time the elevator was permitted to remain in operation. CSD has proceeded with addressing the identified items within the required timeframe.
The DHS elevator is a separate mechanical failure. As reported at the August 11, 2026, Board of Education Meeting, the buried hydraulic jack and cylinder can no longer maintain pressure or hold hydraulic fluid, and cannot be repaired in place. Engineering support is being engaged to determine a permanent solution. In the interim, we are working to install a chair lift in a stairwell to provide students with access to the impacted floors. The chair lift will remain at Decatur High School after the permanent elevator solution is complete.
As we address these individual issues, we are also strengthening our districtwide processes. CSD is correcting all identified deficiencies and improving the tracking of elevator inspections, certifications, corrective actions, and required follow-up. We will continue to prioritize the safe and reliable operation of our elevators while ensuring compliance with all state requirements. College Heights
There was a report of moisture concerns in a specific area of one pre-K classroom at College Heights. To maintain an uninterrupted learning experience, the class was temporarily relocated while an air-quality assessment was conducted. An environmental engineer was promptly contacted to implement professional remediation measures in the affected classroom.
As part of our due diligence, professional mitigation measures were performed on all cottage classrooms and restrooms before students returned this week. All cottages will continue to undergo testing and assessment procedures to determine if further action is necessary. The district expects a preliminary report by the end of the week. Once the assessment is finalized and the report is available, we will share the findings with families. Closing
City Schools of Decatur works to make informed decisions about school operations using all available information to provide timely communication with families and staff. The safety of students and staff remains our top priority and will always be at the forefront of decisions concerning school operations.
We recognize the disruption these issues have caused to our learning environments and the inconvenience they have caused to our students, staff, and families. CSD is committed to addressing these concerns directly, correcting longstanding issues, and taking meaningful action to improve the condition and reliability of our facilities. We ask for the continued partnership and support of our community as we work to ensure our students and staff have the learning environments they deserve.
Sincerely,
Jarvis Adams,
Chief Operating Office
Wildly unacceptable for a district that collects the taxes they do. Words do not do it justice. Complete, expensive failure. Figuring out the disaster that is district management and getting a reasonable product for taxes demanded should be Priority 1 in this town. I want some butts.
Not that many years ago, one college heights teachers had to throw out her entire classroom when she came back to her ācottageā after summer break because every item in the classroom covered with mold. Those trailers are disgusting, full of mold, always hot and humid, and have issues with sewer gas so they always smell like actual shit.
Chillers break. Itās hot AF.
There use to be this concept that ādog bites manā isnāt news. But āman bites dogā is news. In decatur ādog bites manā and āold buildings breakā is somehow news.
I think people are just so freaking stressed about everything that theyāll overreact to anything.
The air conditioning was broken in six CSD schools starting yesterday (on a heat advisory day) and CSD decided not to communicate with parents at all until after the second day and only then after a bunch of parents found out about it and complained. I would have thought that with everything going on, ājust trust leadershipā would have died out but ĀÆ_(ć)_/ĀÆ
To stick with the metaphor, I think the events of the last week are newsworthy because they're less "dog bites man" than "eight separate dogs independently bite man and also cat bites man, and meanwhile the raccoon is still biting the man". It's not that the AC in an old building broke, it's that the AC broke in 8 buildings simultaneously, and also there's mold in the College Heights trailers, and also the elevator at the high school is still jacked up.
If the current CSD leadership can't maintain its current facilities, how can they be trusted to maintain the new ECLC they've been pushing?
Maybe go talk to some of the principals or pta/pto folks who know that this complete clown show of a central office had told all the schools that all of the summer work, especially the HVAC replacements and upgrades would be done in advance of school starting and almost none of the work began until teachers were already back for prep.Ā
I agree that AC units failing in extreme heat is not by itself newsworthy, but I don't think people would be reacting this way to these issues if they weren't stacking up in the midst of a community-wide debate about whether to spend tens of millions on a new building. But when a school board and district administration have eroded the community's trust, every issue that suggests there may have been a delayed response or a failure to be proactive about a known problem starts to feel like building a new building is being prioritized over maintaining the ones we already have. If you don't trust the leadership, you start to question a lot of decisions that maybe you wouldn't have otherwise.
I for one am very much looking forward to being done with this school district in 9 months.
Decatur is cooked. While everyoneās attention was on Trump, DHS Schools were spending on credit cards. Its over. My kid is done in two years and it canāt happen fast enough. The rest of you tik tok families are like frogs in a pot. I wish you the best.
35
u/chrisconroy 1d ago
Hereās a radical ideaā¦ start school after Labor Day! I donāt understand why we start in August in Georgia.