Ohio schools are closed (again) because of the heat

[AquamarineSteph]

In my little town in the south, many school buildings have little or inadequate A/C. There are multiple school busses without any A/C. Both are seriously hot when school starts in August. So far the schools have continued to continue with their normal hours.

I'm not saying that's right or wrong. I'm just relating the facts from where I am.

 

[Southernmiss]

As to the A/C in the South question, schools in my area of South Mississippi, (where we still have daily heat indexes of 100 this week and school started August 8th when the indeces was over 100) bond issues were passed in the 1970s and 80s to add A/C to existing schools. All new schools are built with air.

And yes, it's plausible that the A/C may be needed any month of the year. There's a meme 'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house the a/C was running because we live in the South.' We have lots of holiday/New Year's pictures in shorts.

Most of our school busses have air conditioning. There was a big brouhaha this year the first week of school in a neighboring district about students burning up on a bus whose air went out.

I remember being in 2nd grade in May of 1976 with no air and trying to move my desk closer to the window to feel the breeze. I fell over with the desk landing on and bruising my right hand. I couldn't write to take the California Achievement standardized tests that year. The teacher came out apologizing to my mom at the end of the day.

 

[indimom]

It was in the 90s with a heat index of 100 (lows were in the 70s) at the Florida nursing home where 8 patients recently died from heat-related events (when the a/c was not functioning).

The area we are talking about are experiencing similar temps to what they experienced down there. And the buildings in the north are not designed to help cool, they are designed to trap the warmth (since that is what they require the vast majority of the time they are in use.)

The schools don't have A/C because this is an anomaly for weather in the area. They are breaking century old temp records. If you haven't had temps like this during the school year for a hundred years, you don't spend extra money for A/C. They are spending that money on snow removal in the winter.

Under these conditions, it makes perfect sense to eliminate the health risk to students and staff by closing for a few days one year. If weather conditions continued to follow this pattern in years to come, I would expect that a/c would become more standard in buildings. But, at this point, it's an anomaly, and they are treating it appropriately. IMO.

 

[tvguy]

Most of our school busses have air conditioning. There was a big brouhaha this year the first week of school in a neighboring district about students burning up on a bus whose air went out..

School buses are a thing of the past here, except for special needs students. We have open enrollment, and literally you have streets were NONE of the kids on the same street go to the same school. Just impossible to put together any routes. Which explains why it is gridlock around schools here in the morning and afternoon as mom and dad pickup their kids. How all these parents manage to be off work at 8 am and 2 pm to pickup their kids I don't know.

 

[monsterkitty]

We have no A/C in our school. I teach in a room in the center of the building so by law they have to bring the air in from outside. If it's 90 outside it's over 100 in my room. I was told I can't wear shorts but I do anyway. When an administrator can sit in my room all day and not melt, then I will follow the dress code.

It equals out in the winter - the same vents pull in the cold air and often it only gets to 60 in the room. Sometimes when we're really lucky and the snow is coming from the right direction it will snow on us!!

 

[elaine amj]

How do the schools justify not having at least window unit AC? Surely it cannot be so prohibitively expensive that children and teachers need to suffer in 100+ degree classrooms. How many days a year is it like this on average?
Granted, I live in the deep south, but no one around here would dream of sending their kids to school without AC in the late summer. Temps in the classroom reach dangerous level quickly and the humidity is pretty much 100% all the time, at least from the time school start until close to Thanksgiving, the again stating about the middle of March onwards. We run AC pretty much daily march- November and it isn't unheard of to have temps in the 80's in December or January the necessitate turning it back on for a few days.

Where I live it's pretty hot and humid in both September and June, sometimes October and May too. Stifling on some days. Our Parent Council begged to buy ACs for the classrooms. But we were denied again and again. My understanding is that it will overload the school's electrical system and the school just cannot manage. The classrooms do not have ceiling fans and cope with 1-2 standing fans (I'm not sure - but my guess is teachers buy those with their own personal money).

For some reason, architects NEVER consider hot days and how to design schools to handle weather - what direction windows face, what types of windows to use, etc etc. We had a new addition built a few years back. I was so upset when I saw the window design - you can crack the windows only a few inches. NOT smart for where I live where windows that open wide would make a massive difference.

I grew up in a tropical country. It was hot! We had no ACs in our schools. But we had ceiling fans and plenty of windows that actually opened all the way. I just don't get why most windows around here don't actually open. Does it make that much of a different for warmth? Growing up, I only used my AC occasionally (by choice), even with the tropical heat. I was miserable my first summer in Canada - the heat was beyond anything I'd ever dealt with. It wasn't so much the actual weather (I had no issues being outdoors) - the house I was living in wasn't built for ventilation and it was stifling without a breath of air moving. I was completely shocked.

 

[elaine amj]

We have no A/C in our school. I teach in a room in the center of the building so by law they have to bring the air in from outside. If it's 90 outside it's over 100 in my room. I was told I can't wear shorts but I do anyway. When an administrator can sit in my room all day and not melt, then I will follow the dress code.

It equals out in the winter - the same vents pull in the cold air and often it only gets to 60 in the room. Sometimes when we're really lucky and the snow is coming from the right direction it will snow on us!!

That is dreadful - for you AND your students!

 

[monsterkitty]

Reading more of the thread.

I have no windows in my classroom. I also cannot use a fan because it sets off the breakers for the rest of the school. So, I have a very hot and stinky classroom. Have you ever smelled 45 6th graders who haven't figured out the deodorant thing yet? It's not pretty, let me tell ya! I teach instrumental music so my classes are larger than most. So we have no windows or fans in a crowded classroom where kids move a lot in order to play the instruments.

I have been known to take the kids on a field trip to every drinking fountain in the school just so we can escape.

 

[kimmar067]

I must be odd, but it doesn't affect me that much. We might of used our ac three times this summer, I prefer having my windows open with a breeze.

....I agree.....IF there is a breeze to be had.

 

[kimmar067]

I live in NY and there have been a handful of times where we closed due to heat. It is usually when we have a dangerous heatwave.....

...personally, I consider 98 degrees outside to be a 'dangerous heatwave'.....and, we are NOT allowed to bring in electrical fans of ANY kind, so called, because of the 'safety' concerns of our students.....yeah, like it's 'safe' to sit in a room with stagnant air with the temperature over 100?

 

[kimmar067]

When it gets above 95 or 100 inside no learning takes place. At that point it's just babysitting and heat stroke prevention.

....what Capang said.

 

[Aliceacc]

I love the heat-- I'm suffering far less than most of my friends.

But those who say 90 isn't hot, even with 90% humidity-- don't forget to factor in 40 adolescent bodies per room. Trust me, it makes a difference.

AC simply doesn't make fiscal sense, not in NY. A September as oppressive as this one has been is an anomaly. Typically, we get 3 or 4 rough days per fall, with maybe the same number per spring. Those 8 or 9 days simply don't justify the cost of AC.

 

[kimmar067]

....what I don't understand is that we have two computer labs and a media center, and all three areas are air-conditioned [for the computers]. Twenty-four computers were installed 2 years ago in my room, to be utilized as a PARRC testing center, but these computers don't need a regulated constant temperature? HUH? I must have bionic computers in MY room....

 

[Capang]

So my school had been off the last two days for the heat. We went back today and the classrooms were well above 80 at arrival. The rooms went above 90 as the day progressed. It was only low to mid 80s outside but we cannot teach outside. It was bearable today. Lots of water, lights low, and my kids took lots of notes. It was an easy day. Had we been there the other two days we would be seeing a huge drop in attendance (I know this from past experience), behavior issues, and generally the kids would have been "done" for the week. My school made the right call and I'm glad they did. I am looking forward to a high in the mid 60s tomorrow. Not looking forward to the sinus headache that accompanies such a drop in temps.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

....I agree.....IF there is a breeze to be had.

Where we live, that isn't an option. Even with all the windows open my house would reach a minimum of 95 degrees inside every day from the end of May through at least early September. Most summer days would likely top out above 100 in the house. The 10 days with no power in August from Katrina were misery.

 

[Sparkly]

We had to wait for our headteacher to give us permission to remove our blazers/cardigans in the summer!! Always a relief when our form tutor would announce warm weather rules in the mornings. My school was weird.

 

[cleverclovers]

Yes, it's record breaking (92 today), but do you think it's TOO hot for school? (Most schools here don't have a/c).

Closed because of the heat? I went to school at the wrong time! We were lucky to get snow days. (Yes, I am from Ohio).

 

[PrincessBelle39]

That's insane. That's only 33C. I don't ever remember school closing here. In my DD's last year of primary school they had an entire term (1/4 year) where it didn't get under 30C (86F) with many days being over 40C (105F). And no, the classrooms did not have air conditioning. Sure it was really hot but a great excuse to get a slushie on the way home.