A/C in the schools

[slt]

www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/541855,2_1_AU05_HOTSCHOOLS_S1.article

A lesson in patience
In schools without air conditioning, the first few weeks can be brutally hot

September 5, 2007
By JUSTINA WANG STAFF WRITER

Summer break's over, but the dog days are dragging on in dozens of Fox Valley schools without air conditioning.

"Some days are better than others," said Patricia Cross, principal of West Aurora's Jefferson Middle School, where most of the rooms, except the cafeteria and nurse's office, have only fans to move the heat out. "It's dreadful in here sometimes. ... It gets a little icky."

Nearly all East and West Aurora schools have at least some classrooms without air conditioning. All six schools in Sandwich, as well as three in Plano and 19 elementary buildings in Indian Prairie, have also relied only upon open windows and blowing fans to try to keep the summer temperatures from building up inside.

In the Indian Prairie School District, parents started another push for air conditioning in the 19 elementary schools, spurring a debate that Board President Mark Metzger said arises each August.

In other school districts, many principals said they see few signs that their buildings will get fitted with air conditioning units anytime soon. So for the most part, there's only so much they can do -- add another fan, open windows, hold gym class in the shade outdoors, give kids plenty of water breaks and reminders to wear light, cotton clothes -- while they wait for summer to end.

"We'll just pray for fall," said Mavis DeMar, principal of East Aurora's Hermes Elementary School, where about 20 classrooms are without air conditioning. The school recently bought more fans for the hot classrooms, but "if you walk in there, it's still pretty intense," DeMar said.

West Aurora School District officials also bought dozens of ceiling fans in the past couple weeks and installed them in stuffy classrooms. At Hall Elementary, each of the classrooms now have two installed fans, and several box fans running through the day, said Principal Lisa Polomsky.

"It's just been so unbearably hot, but we're doing the best we can," she said.

Over the last few years, the additions to many local school buildings have come with air conditioning.

For the lucky ones, the new construction has brought relief through the entire buildings.

"It's so much nicer to know that I can come to work dressed professionally and go home not like I've been baling hay all day," said Tammy Eaton, a drama teacher at Yorkville Middle School, where central air conditioning units were installed this summer.

In other schools, however, the renovations have only cooled down certain areas.

"Part of our building is very comfortable," DeMar said. But in other parts "it's like there's not a stitch of moving air."

In spite of the heat, that's expected to continue through today with near-90 degree temperatures, school officials said kids are handling sweltering school days with little complaint. Few have gone to the nurse's office, and no major heat-related illnesses have been reported.

"It's probably been more of a challenge to us and the teachers to get through with the heat than the kids," said Jon Runkle, principal of Plano's P.H. Miller School. "Our students are pretty resilient."

All buildings in the Oswego, Kaneland, Hinckley Big-Rock, Batavia, Geneva, Yorkville and Somonauk school districts are fully air conditioned.

Staff Writers Heather Gillers and Tim Wagner contributed to this story.

[slt]

Preview of an upcoming column -

A few weeks ago I thought air conditioning in elementary schools was unnecessary. I’ve reversed my position and have spent the last several days finding out how to correct this problem in District 204. I‘ve been in contact with residents throughout the district including parents, school board members, teachers, principals, and presidents of PTAs, the IPPC and teacher’s union.

I never believed our elementary schools needed air conditioning. It seemed like a good thing that the district saved taxpayer money by building so many schools without incurring the cost to install, maintain and run air conditioning for what I thought would be a very few days per year. I didn’t have air conditioning in my home or school when I was growing up and I was fine.

These notions flew out the window when I went to our school’s Meet and Greet on the afternoon of August 22. For years I’d heard from students and teachers that the buildings were hot, but I hadn’t experienced it and didn’t know how horribly hot, humid, and downright unbearable it could be. I was only there for an hour. I cannot fathom teaching in this environment all day long, or the kids trying to concentrate while they are dripping with sweat and drinking from water bottles and the hallway fountain attempting to keep hydrated.

Today’s buildings are not built to withstand the heat the way many older buildings are. Our elementary schools do not have high ceilings, large windows, large shade trees, or good air flow. On hot days there are dozens of fans and dehumidifiers turned on throughout the buildings. The lights are turned off and the windows opened. This does little to improve the heat situation yet the noise makes it harder for children to hear their teachers.

The administrative offices, which are open year round, are air conditioned, as are the teacher’s lounges and computer labs. All of our middle schools and high schools and two newest elementary schools are air conditioned. Are the students and staff in those buildings more in need of a comfortable environment than our kindergarten through fifth graders and their teachers in the other nineteen schools?

I thought this was a problem just for a few hot days in the end of August. Now I find that some classrooms are ten to fifteen degrees hotter than it is outside. This means that there are many more days that are terribly hot inside, and those days are much hotter than I ever knew. Even on the cloudy rainy days of Aug. 23 and 24 with no children yet in attendance first floor classroom temps hovered around ninety degrees.

I’m certain that this is a health risk for some people in addition to just making for long and difficult days. My second-grader tells me that children look like they “just came out of a swimming pool” because they are so drenched in sweat. This is not something I want thousands of area children and staff to deal with for many hours a day for several days or weeks per school year for years to come.

The school district has taken some immediate steps to help alleviate the problems in the elementary buildings due to the heat. However, I believe that air conditioning in the buildings would be a better long-term solution that would provide relief from the heat and humidity as well as prevent indoor condensation and any potential for mold.

This can only happen with widespread support within the community. Residents can take the opportunity to speak during the public comment portion of the next school board meeting on Monday, September 10. Elementary school PTAs can pass a resolution calling for a citizens’ committee to be formed.

Retrofitting the buildings for air conditioning will cost money and will need a referendum. This is an uphill battle. Many think as I did recently, that this is unnecessary. Many think they pay too much in taxes already and are weary from previous tax increases and wary of other increases yet to come. Many in the cold of winter will forget how hot it can be in summer. People who have not spent time in a one hundred degree classroom may not realize how truly awful it is. I invite you to contact the building staff at one of the elementary buildings and set up a visit on a hot and sunny day. Most of us would not be willing to work in such circumstances and we should not expect our teachers and children and other building staff to tolerate such conditions either.

This has gone on long enough. Now is the time to take action to rectify this situation.

[e-mail]

[wvhsparent]

Nice article. I think it will be an uphill battle though.

Gonna need some good PR, and IMHO a receptive SB, which will be part of the difficulties.

[doctorwho]

wvhsparent said:

Nice article. I think it will be an uphill battle though.

Gonna need some good PR, and IMHO a receptive SB, which will be part of the difficulties.

I don't think the SB is going to be an issue. Initial feedback I have gotten though is that there has to be a public desire for this - that is where the battle will be - getting people to OK the money. I think very few would say...too bad...no A/C for you, but many will say, I'm not paying for it.

I'm fine with it, but we'll see where this goes.

[wvhsparent]

Cooling all 204 schools won't be cheap

September 6, 2007
By BRITT CARSON Staff writer
Indian Prairie School District 204 students were greeted last week with a blast of hot air. On the second day of classes on Tuesday, Aug. 28, students endured temperatures that reached into the 90s -- and some were without air conditioning.

That has mom Heather Ferguson upset. Her two sons attend first and fourth grades at Georgetown Elementary School, and Ferguson said the hot temperatures make learning a challenge for students.

"When it gets this hot, students aren't getting the quality education they should," she said.

After attending parent orientation last week, which took place on the hottest day of the year, Ferguson brought in a fan for one of her son's teachers to use during the day.


Heat rises

In District 204, both high schools and all six middle schools are air conditioned. Of the 21 elementary schools, only two -- Peterson and Owen -- are air conditioned. The Wheatland Annex, formerly Wheatland Elementary School, is also air conditioned, but was paid for by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Since the school sits on the corner of Route 59 and 103rd Street, the traffic noise prevented the teachers from opening the windows, so IDOT funded the project.
Peterson was built with a state construction grant. Owen was opened in 2003 with funds from the 2001 referendum.

All the schools in neighboring Naperville School District 203 are air conditioned.

School board President Mark Metzger said every August, the debate over air conditioning emerges. He said the cost to retrofit each school is about $800,000, bringing the total for the 19 schools to roughly $15 million.

Metzger said each time the district has gone for a referendum, the citizens committee has examined the issue and said retrofitting was too expensive given the other immediate needs of housing students. However, with the 2001 referendum, the committee decided if new schools were built, air conditioning should be included.

"In some ways, this is perfect proof of the old adage that hindsight is 20/20. From hot August days in 2007, it hardly seems to be sensible not to have air conditioned the elementary schools," Metzger said Aug. 28 in a letter posted on the district's Web site. "From the standpoint of abject terror over failing a referendum by asking for too much in the early '90s, it made a lot more sense. In hindsight it's easy to forget just how hard-fought these referendum campaigns were.

"In 1994, there were people who were adamantly opposed to building Neuqua Valley because we would never be able to fill a second high school in this district, and it will sit unused."


Short memory

To help deal with the heat, students are allowed to bring in water bottles. Ferguson said she tries to freeze the bottles at night, so they will stay colder for longer periods of time. She suggested an early dismissal would help students during the hottest days. However, it appears today's temperatures, forecast at 80 degrees, should bring some relief to students.
But that's not enough for Ferguson. She said the time for a referendum to fund air conditioning is now.

"As a taxpayer I know the district isn't growing like it used to," said Ferguson, a product of District 204 schools. "I would support my taxes going up for this -- it would be minimal. The neighbors I have talked to so far -- no one has opposed it. We need to put kids first and think about their education and make sure they are comfortable as well."

Metzger said although he welcomes a citizen group to consider the issue, another factor is the time of year when elections are held.

"People need to factor into the thought process that a vote is tied to a November, February or March election date when heat is usually a distant memory." Metzger said. "If it were held today, now it might pass easily."

Sun-Times News Group

[EagleDad]

That's a good point that M2 raises. A referendum for 15 Million to put air conditioning in our schools, voted on in November or February would be the laughing stock of the state, if not the country.

It's a steep uphill battle, especially with the recently passed referendum and remaining work on getting the third high school built.

Anyone is welcome to take up that cause, just don't be suprised if there's not a huge groundswell of support, especially in the middle of winter. And for the record, I remain against it (as I've stated previously).

[justme]

My friend has been up to the ES 3 times in 2 days due to breathing problems her child is having. Her physician (an allergy and asthma specialist) told her that allergins are really bad at this time of the year and in spring and being in the air conditioned indoors would help alieviate the problem. The nurse at her child's ES also told her that she is seeing A LOT of kids with allergy problems right now. I wonder if her physician and the physicians of like affected children could address the SB on this issue? Maybe that would help keep us from being a laughing stock.

It also sounds ridiculous to me to read that the most senior member of our SB, not to mention the President, says hindsight is 20/20. Really? How about when we had a heat wave in 1995 that killed 525 people in Chicago alone? What about the heat wave of 1999 in which 103 heat-related deaths were reported in Chicago? We then built 2 ES in 1999 and 2001 without AC. Where does hindsight come in to play for those schools? Always an excuse. This SB member was directly involved in the decisions made at that time.

[Arch]

E.D., I agree with you and MM on the timing of when a vote would take place for this topic.

Personally, I would support it, but yes, most of the demand for it will go silent because of the climate @ vote time.

"What? 15 Million to make a building cold? It's already cold enough in here!"

[momto4]

eagledad said:

That's a good point that M2 raises. A referendum for 15 Million to put air conditioning in our schools, voted on in November or February would be the laughing stock of the state, if not the country.

Would you propose we hold an election in August? I don't think we'd be the laughingstock of anywhere, when in fact I think it's almost the opposite right now. People from all over are horrified to think that children in an area that has such extremes of heat do not have HVAC.

[204parent]

All the schools in neighboring Naperville School District 203 are air conditioned.

And their test scores are higher...

[bob]

justme said:

It also sounds ridiculous to me to read that the most senior member of our SB, not to mention the President, says hindsight is 20/20. Really? How about when we had a heat wave in 1995 that killed 525 people in Chicago alone? What about the heat wave of 1999 in which 103 heat-related deaths were reported in Chicago? We then built 2 ES in 1999 and 2001 without AC. Where does hindsight come in to play for those schools? Always an excuse. This SB member was directly involved in the decisions made at that time.

The 1995 heat wave was in July and 1999 was also in the summer so the kids were not at school but in their houses.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did a thorough study of individual-level risk factors for heat wave victims, and they came up with a list of conditions of vulnerability: living alone, not leaving home daily, lacking access to transportation, being sick or bedridden, not having social contacts nearby, and of course not having an air conditioner.

www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/443213in.html

Using the 1995 and 1999 deaths of the poor and elderly to justify $15 million for AC , in my opinion, is a bit of a stretch.


So let's bring it to a referendum and vote on it.

[Arch]

There's a process to get it in front of the voters. Get on a committee and draft a referendum and get it adopted for the ballot. Then, what happens, happens.

[justme]

bob said:

justme said:

It also sounds ridiculous to me to read that the most senior member of our SB, not to mention the President, says hindsight is 20/20. Really? How about when we had a heat wave in 1995 that killed 525 people in Chicago alone? What about the heat wave of 1999 in which 103 heat-related deaths were reported in Chicago? We then built 2 ES in 1999 and 2001 without AC. Where does hindsight come in to play for those schools? Always an excuse. This SB member was directly involved in the decisions made at that time.

The 1995 heat wave was in July and 1999 was also in the summer so the kids were not at school but in their houses.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did a thorough study of individual-level risk factors for heat wave victims, and they came up with a list of conditions of vulnerability: living alone, not leaving home daily, lacking access to transportation, being sick or bedridden, not having social contacts nearby, and of course not having an air conditioner.

www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/443213in.html

Using the 1995 and 1999 deaths of the poor and elderly to justify $15 million for AC , in my opinion, is a bit of a stretch.


So let's bring it to a referendum and vote on it.

I found something more relevent.

"There are legal requirements that affect how schools deal
with students and staff who have asthma. Federal laws
(Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] of 1997 and
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) require that schools
both promote the health, development and achievement of students
with asthma, where the disease interferes with their learning,
and remove “disability barriers” (e.g., poor indoor air quality)
that impede health, participation and achievement. The law
requires schools and parents to work together as partners to
develop and implement health plans to protect the welfare of
the child."

Hmmm... sound very legal to me and needs to be investigated (and yes, I will be doing just that).

[bob]

And the solution would be, if it concerns the parents that much, the kids can go to Peterson or Owen.

Students can attend any 204 grade school, if that school has room for them.

[wvhsparent]

justme said:

bob said:

The 1995 heat wave was in July and 1999 was also in the summer so the kids were not at school but in their houses.





www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/443213in.html

Using the 1995 and 1999 deaths of the poor and elderly to justify $15 million for AC , in my opinion, is a bit of a stretch.


So let's bring it to a referendum and vote on it.

I found something more relevent.

"There are legal requirements that affect how schools deal
with students and staff who have asthma. Federal laws
(Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] of 1997 and
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) require that schools
both promote the health, development and achievement of students
with asthma, where the disease interferes with their learning,
and remove “disability barriers” (e.g., poor indoor air quality)
that impede health, participation and achievement. The law
requires schools and parents to work together as partners to
develop and implement health plans to protect the welfare of
the child."

Hmmm... sound very legal to me and needs to be investigated (and yes, I will be doing just that).

That's some good info.
Then, as much as I hate saying this. Someone then needs to step up and start some legal action. Maybe it should be a Statewide class action suit, cuz there are many schools out there other than 204 that this applies to also.
A court order could trump a need for a referendum. But still all the affected school districts would have figure out a way to get the needed funding.
Devil's advocate though. They could also AC one or two schools and assign affected students to those schools regardless of boundaries. Then we're back to square 1.