The Mathews County School Board is requesting $111,950 in emergency funding to replace one of the two chiller units at Mathews High School.

The unit, which provides air conditioning for the building as well as working in conjunction with the school’s heating system, "has taken ill of late," resulting in more than $35,000 in repair bills over the past few months, according to Superintendent of Schools David J. Holleran. The chiller is 12 or 13 years old, which Holleran said is the typical lifespan of such equipment.

"It’s surviving, but it’s on its last legs," Holleran said. "We kind of nursed it through the summer."

During Tuesday night’s meeting in the MHS media center, board members were faced with either asking county supervisors for funds to replace the entire chiller unit or just replacing one of two compressors in that unit, at a cost of approximately $30,000. Board members eventually decided against replacing just the one compressor out of concern...