Miami

Parents Concerned Over School Gym with No A/C & Open to the Public

A local school is in need of some major upgrades – not just cosmetically, but for the safety of the students.

Feinburg Fisher K-8 in Miami Beach is a gated and protected school. But the gym is across the street off-campus, and since there’s no air conditioning in the gym, the doors have to stay open – not only leaving kids hot, but also vulnerable to danger.

“It’s a life safety issue for our children,” said Stewart Turner, the school’s PTA president. “We live in this school and this school is in one of the highest concentrations of the homeless district in Miami Beach.”

“Our concern is that when students are in the gym exercising, there’s no AC, so the doors are left open. And anybody can walk in at any time. And that’s not a safe environment for our children,” said Turner.

Turner has been sounding the alarm for quite some time about the school gym not having air conditioning.

The chief concern is safety, health being another. The nearly 100-year-old facility was built without a cooling system. But parents say it’s time.

“I feel like they’re not moving fast enough,” said Jeremy Clubb, a parent. “I feel like certain things can happen much quicker and an AC for me is a critical piece of equipment.”

NBC 6 asked the district about the project. They said it’s investing $4.3 million in building renovations. The AC unit phase of the work will begin in May 2018.

“I think they can do things faster,” said Turner. “There’s a lot of bureaucracy and red tape that we can cut through to do that.”

Since the school is so old, a lot of renovations are being made or have already been done. But parents say the gym should have been done first, since it’s open to the public.

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