Took me a bit to get to this article, but I'll tell you what, I worked 3 summers cleaning all the computer labs in the district. High schools down to middle schools down to grade schools. You talk about HOT? Try doing that job. As others have said, we lived without AC in school, but todays kids are spoiled rotten and pampered. Don't want them to be uncomfortable. I never heard of any kid or teacher dying from how hot the school was when I attended. JMO

hey garyprimer shhhh no one wants to hear you talk.

"And JasonTh when you have had to sit in a sweltering hot school all day long when it's 95 degrees with 80 percent humidity then you can talk." Who hasn't had to do that? And I am very comforted by the explanation that the company that installed the system didn't expect it to work. You do have a warranty, but I am sure that is limited to a specific length of time and even with the warranty, you still don't have air conditioning, so what good is it?

The District brought in companies to interview for the installation, North American was picked by the district committee. also out of town workers installed the system when N.A.M.I. was short of employees. Anyone can file an open records request to get this information from the district

So the referendum that got crammed down our throats ends up giving us a lemon system with shoddy installation. That's not funny, but it is somehow poetic. Glad to know my tax money is spent with care and consideration.

Thanks Mr. Schultz. That's alot of cabbage for faulty equipment. Maybe it's gremlins.

Note to engineers...ON...OFF.

Also, it's my understanding that the crews NAMI brought in from out-of-town worked on the demolition part of the project, not the construction part.

School bored , good job in spending your hard unearned money!

Airflow and ice making are two separate issues. The computer system that controls airflow throughout the building does not itself make the ice. If there's not enough ice (because the ice making system shuts down prematurely) then it doesn't matter how much airflow you generate. Without ice, there is nothing to cool the air that is distributed.

As with most contractors, NAMI puts less-experienced workers with more experienced workers. This is the same with both union and non-union companies. An apprentice or pre-apprentice union worker is no more skilled than someone off the streets, to start.

Since this is an issue at both schools, it indicates a problem with the ice-maker. There was a different contractor installing the chiller and environmental controls at Parker than at Craig. It's unlikely that both contractors would have issues with those components, so I think the ice-maker is the most likely culprit.

One other point...there was a totally separate contractor that did the air balancing.

econgirl419, I think JoyM was just saying we didn't have computers back then.
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There are two issues here. One is the calibration of the system in cooling individual rooms, and I can expect that to be something that takes a couple of years to tune (it's not running year round, after all). The other, though, is this mechanical issue with the ice maker, and the manufacturer should be expected to fix that very quickly.

JoyM-Do some research before making comments! A room's temperature DOES have an effect on computers and hardware. Hot temperatures will raise the overall temperature in the computer and the CPU fan and case fans will have to work overtime. At high temperatures you will get stability issues with the entire system. It may also shut down without any warning. That is best case scenario. Worst case is you fry your CPU.
I take great care of my computers, and I have no issues. A computer can only be as smart as the person using it...

$70.8 million for both high schools, but that includes big expansions of the buildings and lots of remodeling, in addition to the new HVAC systems.
-- Gazette reporter Frank Schultz

Yes, this is a problem. I hate to admit it, but I have more concern for the computers than the students on this one. The computers might fry, but not the kids. I remember the hot, sticky days spent in class as a child. The teachers would do their best to improve the conditions by hauling in fans from home, keeping the lights turned off, and letting us take breaks to get a drink of water. Surprisingly, we all survived although we didn't believe we would at the time.

How much did this cost us again?

yep mami is one of the biggest rat contractors in the madison area.. They were recently awarded the new monroe clinic job and put there ad in the paper for help.. no experience required.. you do get what you pay for when it comes to installing piping systems. Oh and any mechanical contractor could install this so why not let them bid on it?

The story names the installation contractor, but not the manufacturer. This seems to be inconsistent.

Quit cryin'. It's under warranty. People got it way too easy these days. Gives them a need to fight something.

Money well spent

If I were a Janesville resident I would be just as hot as the students in regards to this "malfunction" Truth is this job was NOT bid competitively. NAMI was handed the job because they were the "experts" on systems like this. Question the school boards decision to not send the project our for bids. You get what you pay for and this was not a cheap price to pay residents

I doubt the school district got to choose the HVAC contractor. JP Cullen was the General Contractor.

Was the system even up and running last summer?

chelseafcman13 - it may be that the school system's hands were tied and that they had to take the lowest bid....that is why some government entities are changing from lowest bid to lowest and best bid - although I frankly acknowledge I don't know how that is changed. But it then allows for a bid that comes from a contractor with questionable history to be excluded from further consideration, which is what I think you were aiming for. But meanwhile, don't forget, whether it's JasonTh or I or any number of persons several years out of school, we did NOT have any air conditioning because no computers needed to be babied,and some of us did survive 95 degree days with 80% humidity. We didn't like it, and we griped long and hard about it, but here we are today. Was it conducive to learning? No way.

That is total BS that it takes a year or two to work out kinks and balance the air handling system. ESPECIALLY with today's computer controlled dampers, valves, and sensors. I know this because I did this exact job in a previous career.

It's due to NAMI's (North American Mechanical Inc.) lack of proper installation in any of this. My father has worked with this company in his time at his own job and has commented that they are lousy at properly installing calibrating the air units. If the Janesville School District would actually research the company behind the work instead of taking a low bid on the job then maybe we would have working AC in the schools by now. Too bad they are way too cheap to do anything like that. And JasonTh when you have had to sit in a sweltering hot school all day long when it's 95 degrees with 80 percent humidity then you can talk.

Yeah darwin, make sure you have warranty coverage on your Rent a Center computer.

The fact is that North American was brought in from the beginning by the school district. They helped design the system and they also installed it. At one time North American brought in workers from out-of-state to help them install the system. Do you think these workers cared about the tax payers?

No but computers don't like temperature fluctuations and humidity.

Really? The fact that a non-union person or group installed it is the sole reason for it not working perfectly the first time it's used?

Interesting.

And students have had thirty years of non airconditioned classes before this day - I don't think they're getting burned. Such drama...

This work was NOT performed by a union contractor thus, the reason the air system was not properly balanced. Tried to cut costs and the students are getting burned for it.