As the temperatures reach towards the 90s this week, suburban schools will occasionally make the local news when their air conditioning breaks down.
Meanwhile, several schools in the Columbus City Schools system have never had air conditioning. In September of last year, when the temperature outside hit 94 degrees, some elementary classrooms recorded 100 degree readings on their thermometers; that’s with fans running at full tilt. In response, the district formed a committee to address climate and concerns for student well-being in those buildings.
Deputy Superintendent John Stanford headed up the committee. He shared the committee’s resolution in an email, “One of the committee’s long-term recommendations is to hire a consultant to assess the capacity of all non-air conditioned buildings for upgrades to add the infrastructure to accommodate window units or central air.”
He continued, “Once the assessment is complete, the committee recommended that the buildings be placed on a high priority capital improvement schedule for installation of window units or a central air.”
No consultant has been hired, and no assessment has been made. While the administrative buildings Downtown are fully air conditioned, Superintendent Good does visit the hot buildings. Good also mentioned a new effort: “We’re distributing bottled water (1,050 cases of it) daily to buildings with no or partial air conditioning.”
The water provides small solace to families who are waiting for the district to act on its own “long-term”, “high-priority” recommendations, as the Board of Education sells old properties and builds new 37-million-dollar campuses.
On the lighter side, it’s true that humans and schools existed for a long time before air conditioning existed. The difference now is that local children are no longer acclimated to hot conditions, which makes them vulnerable to heat injuries (elevated heart rate, dehydration, heat stroke). It is possible to acclimate and adjust to warm weather. The United States Armed Forces actually has several guidelines for achieving acclimation (*):
1) Start a month ago (this will require a time machine).
2) Turn off all air conditioning at home.
3) The guidelines say to “mimic” the environment, so invite twenty people to sit in the living room, as that can simulate a hot classroom packed with human bodies.
The next Board of Education meeting will be at 5:30 on September 2, in the Columbus Education Center on State Street. The building is air conditioned.
(*) with some interpretation of the information offered on page four FOUND HERE.
To read more updates on School Issues, CLICK HERE.
For more ongoing discussion on Columbus City Schools, CLICK HERE to visit our Messageboard.