The Duval County School Board approved $6 million for HVAC repairs and emergency services Tuesday, two weeks after a malfunctioning air handler forced Crown Point Elementary in Mandarin to close.

The contract amendment makes up to $6 million available each year for large emergency repairs on top of routine maintenance, according to Action News Jax. The district's HVAC contractor will now handle both day-to-day upkeep and urgent fixes under a single agreement.

Six schools tapped for full system overhauls, but list stays secret

Six schools have been selected for complete HVAC system overhauls this school year, with plans to tear out and replace six to eight schools' systems annually going forward. As of Thursday, district leaders had not announced which schools made the list, News4Jax reported.

No Mandarin schools have been named.

Jim Culbert, Duval County Public Schools chief of operations and technology services, described the scope of the overhaul plan Tuesday, before the board vote. "This school year, six of our schools have been selected, and we're going to completely redo the entire A/C systems for those schools," Culbert told News4Jax.

District logged 1,300 service calls in first 11 days of classes

The funding comes after a brutal start to the school year. DCPS received 1,300 air-conditioning service calls in the first 11 days of classes, according to Action News Jax.

Smoke from broken air handler shut down Crown Point Elementary

At Crown Point Elementary, smoke from a broken air handler filled four classrooms on the morning of Aug. 20, prompting a Jacksonville Fire Rescue response at about 7:14 a.m. Only about 20 students were on campus at the time, according to Action News Jax. Principal Katie O'Connell said the school reopened Aug. 21, after inspections by district crews and an independent vendor.

Superintendent points to a decade of deferred maintenance

Superintendent Christopher Bernier said the district deferred maintenance for more than a decade. He said this summer's heat index reached 113 degrees, pushing aging units past their limits, according to News4Jax.

The district has also purchased about 20 portable spot coolers for emergency deployment and is buying larger units for gymnasiums and other big spaces, according to First Coast News. DCPS said it plans to launch a dedicated maintenance desk to speed up response times for HVAC and other facility problems.

Facilities budget set to jump $10 million next school year

Looking ahead, the district plans to increase its major facilities budget from $42 million to $52 million for the 2027-28 school year, according to News4Jax. Culbert said Aug. 21 that the current-year maintenance budget rose from $17 million to $40 million, with HVAC work now the top priority.

The district has not announced a date for releasing the list of six schools slated for full HVAC replacement.