With temperatures reaching near-record highs and Harlan County being included in a heat advisory, parents at Wallins Elementary School were disturbed Wednesday after learning that an air conditioning unit was not working in one classroom.

The school's principal, Bristol Belcher, confirmed that a unit went out in a first grade classroom, but as soon as the situation occurred, the students were relocated to another room that had air conditioning.

"When the A.C. unit went down, which happened first thing Wednesday morning, these students were transferred to another room immediately," Belcher said. "Maintenance was also dispatched immediately to relieve the problem."

A new unit has been received but is not in place yet while maintenance staff is working on modifications to make the unit fit. In the meantime, the first-graders remain in the math lab for instruction while the installation is taking place.

The response might have been expedient, but parents are upset that they were not informed about the incident. Some parents are even saying that there are air conditioning problems in more than one classroom.

Despite a statement made by Belcher that only one classroom in his school was without air conditioning, parents say they believe, based on information they've gathered through their children and through unidentified central office personnel, that there's a bigger problem.

"No parents were notified," said Rhonda Pacholewski, a parent of a Wallins first-grader who was transferred to another room because of the failed air conditioning unit. "I was informed of the situation by another parent calling me. My daughter said it was hot, and she came home from school drained. You could tell she was tired.

"I'm upset because we had children who were sitting in a room without air conditioning in this type of heat, and the parents were not notified."

Pacholewski said it was the same room that did not have air conditioning last week during an open house at the school.

"It was hot then, and apparently they did not fix the problem," she said.

Cindy Saylor has a 13-year-old grandson who goes to Wallins. He's also complained of it being too hot.

"He's come home saying there's just not enough air," Saylor said. "I think it's too hot for them to be in school, especially if we've got buildings that are having air conditioning problems. Other counties around us have called it off - why not Harlan County?"

Harlan County School Board member Gary Farmer, who represents the Wallins area, did not know anything about air conditioning problems at the school when contacted by phone Thursday evening. Farmer made a few inquiries then called back with additional information.

From what Farmer could gather, a unit did go out in one Wallins classroom and the school's cafeteria was also experiencing cooling problems. He also learned that there were other reports rising throughout the county school district concerning air conditioning units not functioning properly.

"Evidently, there's been some problems," Farmer said. "I know it's hot outside, and it's hard to keep any building cool. But if this heat continues, it would be my suggestion to possibly dismiss until the heat breaks. I think it needs to be looked at."

Farmer also said if the air conditioning problems in the school's cafeteria continue, HVAC technicians should be brought in to assess the situation.

Harlan County School Superintendent Tim Saylor and facilities director Mike Howard were not available for comment Thursday evening.

Belcher did confirm Thursday that football practice at his school had been canceled for the remainder of the week and that girls basketball practice was being monitored on a day-to-day basis.

Both Belcher and Farmer both stated they did not receive any complaints from parents concerning the students being transferred due to the failed unit. One parent said she was told, after issuing complaints to central office, that 10 air conditioning units had been ordered for Wallins.

Some of the parents are saying that it's also a major concern that their children have to ride buses not equipped with air conditioning during the hottest time of the day. Farmer did confirm that none of the county's school buses had air conditioning.

Belcher said the parents had every right to be concerned.

"Nobody's saying it's not hot," Belcher said. "But as far as being uncomfortable, nobody has complained about that. But I can assure everyone that the students' safety, whether it be heat or security, is the number one priority with me in this building."

At least one county sporting event has been canceled. A girls middle school basketball game Thursday at Green Hills Elementary School was called off due to hot conditions in the gym.