Students at Johns Creek High School, Chattahoochee High School, and Northview High School will walk into classrooms Monday, August 3, with the district promising fewer air-conditioning breakdowns than in years past. But at Northview, where a burned-out HVAC fan belt triggered two fire-alarm evacuations in January 2024, the aging cooling systems are still being phased out.

Fulton County Schools Chief Operations Officer Noel Maloof told Atlanta News First the district's four-year-old preventive maintenance program has cut first-day service calls by 70%. Crews begin each June cleaning AC coils, checking fan belts, and replacing filters across 16 million square feet of school buildings serving roughly 85,000 students.

"We instituted a program about four years ago where we go out and start it in June and identified any of the trouble spots that we have," Maloof said.

The district targets 73 degrees Fahrenheit in classrooms year-round and uses remote monitoring technology to detect temperature spikes or outages and dispatch repair teams immediately. Maloof said when outdoor heat reaches dangerous levels, protocol calls for moving students to shaded areas or keeping them inside entirely.

Northview's HVAC history

Northview families have particular reason to watch the situation. On January 12, 2024, a rubber fan belt on an HVAC unit above the P.E. hallway burned out, sending smoke into the visitor's locker room. Students evacuated twice into a freezing downpour for about an hour while fire crews cut through a sheetrock ceiling to reach the unit.

Battalion Chief Anthony Saunders told reporters on January 12, 2024, that crews "were able to isolate that unit and kill the power to it." Northview Principal Martin Neuhaus told the Northview Messenger student newspaper after the incident: "I can't say that that's never going to happen again."

Fulton County had already slated Northview's aging HVAC systems for replacement over successive summers at the time of that incident, according to the Northview Messenger. The district has not publicly detailed how much of that work has been completed heading into the 2026–27 school year.

Funding picture

The broader challenge is significant. A 2020 Facility Condition Assessment found district-wide HVAC systems rated "Poor," with $531 million in repair and renewal needs out of a $1.062 billion total replacement value. The Fulton County Board of Education adopted Capital Plan 2032 in June 2026, listing HVAC and mechanical systems nearing end of life as the top facilities priority.

That plan is funded primarily through ESPLOST (Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax). The current collection period runs through June 30, 2027, and voters will decide whether to renew it on the November 3, 2027 ballot.

What's next

As we reported July 28, classes across Fulton County Schools resume Monday, August 3. For heat preparedness, Maloof said students will be kept indoors or in shade during extreme temperatures. Parents can also take steps on their own: Jessica Casey, a Heards Ferry Elementary parent interviewed by Atlanta News First, said her family packs two water bottles with Gatorade and applies sunscreen before school.

The Fulton County Board of Education holds a special called meeting and millage rate hearing Thursday, July 30, at the FCS South Learning Center, 4025 Flat Shoals Road, Union City.