ROCKWELL — Rockwell Elementary School released its students early after the school’s air conditioning broke Friday morning.

In an e-mailed press release, school system officials said that the breakdown was due to a compressor failure which shut down the entire system. Due to rising temperatures within the building, administration made the call to dismiss students at 12:30 p.m. Principal Laura Bardill notified parents of the early release via a Connect-ED message.

Students were served lunch before the mid-day dismissal. Students riding buses were sent home on bus routes. If no adult was present at the student’s drop-off location, the students were to be returned to the school, where they would gather in the media center or in one of the school’s two mobile units, which still had working air conditioning.

Staff is working to expedite the process, but it is unknown how long it will take to repair or replace the compressors. The situation will be re-evaluated over the weekend, school system Public Information Officer Rita Foil said in an e-mail, and parents will be updated Sunday of any changes in protocol for the remaining three days of school.