VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The following is a statement from Valley City Public Schools Superintendent Josh Johnson.

“This morning, our staff showed up at Washington Elementary to temperatures around 50 degrees.  The recent cold weather is creating challenges with our heating systems across the school district, especially at Washington School.  Our crew will continue to work with local contractors to address the issues;  however, with continued cold temperatures in the forecast this week, we are expecting temperatures to fluctuate in classrooms across the school district.  As ridiculous as this sounds, please have students dress in layers for this upcoming week.

Up until last week, we were able to use the new AC units to provide primary heat in the classrooms at Jefferson and Washington Elementary Schools.  When the outdoor temperatures drop into the single digits or below, these units are unable to provide the necessary heat for the rooms.  Thus, we rely upon the old boilers and systems to provide the heat for the classrooms.  Again, we are working hard to address these issues and do our best to provide comfortable (and stable) temperatures across the school district.

If this continues to be an issue, we will communicate more information with you.  On Tuesday, January 16th, we are expecting that classroom temperatures will NOT be in the 50’s in the school district.”