Ohio schools are closed (again) because of the heat

[Colleen27]

What do you do in June?!?

June isn't usually hot. This year we *froze* on our first summer vacation. Actually had the heat going in our rented cabin, the last weekend in June. That was a bit unseasonable, but we tend not to get more than the odd one-off hot day until July.

So people get criticized for leaving kids in cars when the temperature is in the 70s, but going to a school with no ac (and presumably no ventilation) is ok. Got it.

I suspect it is only a matter of time until people start labeling parents who live without a/c "neglectful"

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?

They're expensive. Expensive to buy, on a per-use basis, and expensive to run. Adding a/c to a school that wasn't built for it, even just window units (which can't actually be installed in the type of windows many schools here have), just isn't cost effective for as little use as it would get.

We get, on average, 12 90+ degree days a year, most of them in July & Aug. To put this week's weather in perspective, we average ONE 90° day in September. Today is the 6th in a row, which is actually more than we had over the entirety of our cooler-than-average summer this year.

It never occurred to me either, but I live in FL. If the entire state of FL can afford to run HVAC in every single school 365 days a year, I'm surprised other states can't install some sort of HVAC systems in their schools.

Schools here tend to use boiler heat because it is efficient, cost-effective, and durable. But that means no ductwork, and no ductwork means installing central air is a major expense and construction process (actually, that's the same reason we don't have it at home!). Also the schools are built for the cold and to resist heat loss, which sometimes means windows that don't do a great job with cooling/circulation.

 

[AndyLL]

A big difference these days are that a lot of classrooms have several electronic devices in them. Computers and projectors generate a lot of heat.

In our office if the AC goes out in the summer for more than a few hours it gets real hot. We shut down all our computers in the server room if the AC is out for more than 1/2 hour otherwise the electronics could be damaged.

Pack 30+ kids and a few computers in a non-ventilated room in a brick building and I'm guessing not much learning will be happening.

 

[dish rag]

We are in Orlando now, the feel like it 100F. School is in session.

 

[sam_gordon]

I suspect it is only a matter of time until people start labeling parents who live without a/c "neglectful"

I think it's fine to live without AC... provided you have some air flow. Meaning you can open a window. Can the schools in question open windows? Do they have internal classrooms that have no windows?

We are in Orlando now, the feel like it 100F. School is in session.

Is there A/C in the schools? If so, apples to oranges.

 

[tvguy]

That's messed up.

LOL. First world problem.

 

[leebee]

Okay, now that that has been said (Big Evil Grin) For all those that poke fun at the south and west in the winter, IT'S PAYBACK TIME!!!

Oh look at those yankees. They can't stand the heat and are getting out of the kitchen before the stove is even turned on. Yeah they should come down here and we'll show em some REAL heat. Haven't they heard of Air Conditioning or ceiling fans up there? We really need to bring them into the 21st century. Canceling school for the heat. Who ever heard of such a thing? I wonder if they know what a swimming pool is? Why down here when we were school aged, we walked over burning charcoal, barefoot. Both ways. And for good measure just to toughen us up, we walked over it three extra times on mondays. Didn't hurt us none. And now they're complaining of 92. Sheesh.

OK, I know this is a joke, so I just have to point out- folks in Ohio are NOT considered Yankees, at least not to those of us who are! Also.... Ya know how there's no a/c? Well, not too many folks have swimming pools, either- or ceiling fans! We have 4 ceiling fans, but only because we installed them when we bought the house. Otherwise, no pool, no a/c at home, not at school either.

And just to be silly back, I'd like to point out that I had about 5feet, 5inches of snow fall in my front yard and driveway last February, from ONE STORM. Got any good suggestions on how to move that? Yup, one shovel at a time!

 

[kmb584]

I haven't read through the thread yet, but I honestly think it's a bit ridiculous. Several in our area were closed yesterday and today. I don't like the fact that it's almost October and the lowest temp we've had since last week has been 95 (I'm in NE PA), but I survived going to elementary, middle, and high school without air conditioning. My daughter's elementary school now has a/c (it's the same school I went to) but I don't think they would have closed if they didn't. One school that did close does have a/c but the school board felt it too risky for the kids that walk to school.

I don't know, maybe the heat and humidity are making me extra grouchy today!

 

[EveDallas]

Do they really need to run it year-round? Are schools running A/C throughout the winter months in most of the state of FL?

I live in Texas, not Florida, but down here it doesn't get cool enough to turn off the A/C until late Nov/early Dec. And even then it might only last through Feb before the temps are high enough for A/C again. I imagine Florida isn't all that different.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Do they really need to run it year-round? Are schools running A/C throughout the winter months in most of the state of FL?

Maybe 365 is hyperbole on my part- there may be times they don't (it's been a few years since I was in HS), and there are times they switch to heat, but for the most part the AC is running- including all summer. Buildings get mold if they don't run AC here.

I will add that a lot of FL schools are built with open-air hallways and courtyards. I would guess that half of my HS's footprint was essentially outdoors.

 

[mom2rtk]

Nice that they can afford it.

It's not a matter of having lots of excess cash laying around. I live in a very mixed socioeconomic district. But they set about adding A/C through a series of bond issues over the past 15-20 years and all of the schools are finally fully air conditioned.

 

[BLAZEY]

I remember being in grade 6 and they closed the school at 10am because it got too cold. The heat went off and it was in the middle of winter. School started at 8:20am , by 9am and announcement was made for students to get their coats on as the temperature inside had dropped. By 10 am it had dropped further and they weren't going to be able to to fix the furnace that day. We were sent home. I can see it happening at the other end of the spectrum too. It may be 92* outside but with no A/C and all those warm bodies it's likely hotter than 92* indoors.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I think it's fine to live without AC... provided you have some air flow. Meaning you can open a window. Can the schools in question open windows? Do they have internal classrooms that have no windows

It's very likely that if a school is not air-conditioned, it has windows that can be opened. I think it would be a building code requirement in most regions.

 

[dish rag]

I think it's fine to live without AC... provided you have some air flow. Meaning you can open a window. Can the schools in question open windows? Do they have internal classrooms that have no windows?

Is there A/C in the schools? If so, apples to oranges.

Yes. But there wasn't even just 25 years ago in some of them. And long before that of course non had ac.

 

[sam_gordon]

It's very likely that if a school is not air-conditioned, it has windows that can be opened. I think it would be a building code requirement in most regions.

Assumptions though.

Yes. But there wasn't even just 25 years ago in some of them. And long before that of course non had ac.

Did they have other methods of cooling? As I mentioned, with windows that can open and/or fans?

 

[runwad]

I'm so thankful all the schools in our district are air conditioned! I'm in NE Ohio too, so we've had school.

I remember as a kid being on the 2nd floor in the elementary school, taking the class outside under a tree. That was kinda fun, we liked those hot days that we could hold class outside.

 

[adelaster]

It's very likely that if a school is not air-conditioned, it has windows that can be opened. I think it would be a building code requirement in most regions.

I can 100% verify that in the Columbus City Schools I have visited (far from all) not every classroom had windows, and in some instances they had windows but the windows did not open. I have also worked in a shared building with a Columbus City School that was operated/managed by the city-and neither the heat or A/C worked effectively or consistently. We wore winter coats indoors in winter and brought in spaceheaters, and in the summer, well, we did our best-aka hogged the one industrial fan they brought in. Many people came in and left based on temperature alone, or seeing the lack of emergency exits/windows. Codes change. Most of these old buildings would likely not tolerate close inspection. The one I was in actually was closed, only to be reopened based on the space need. Education is an expense that tends to get shirked-especially in less privileged/wealthy areas. We'd like to think someone is addressing it, but education in America and in Ohio has a lot of funding flaws. You do the best with what you have.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

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.

Keep in mind the size room that is being cooled. Some would probably require a through the wall unit. All those units probably would tax the electrical system in some of these older buildings as well. Further, what does one do about interior rooms? And keep in mind it's like snow in the south. It doesn't happen enough to warrant the huge expenditures for snow removal equipment like the north has.

 

[tvguy]

As I recall our classrooms were always hot, year round. No A/C, and it was frequently 90-100 degrees in September and June.
And the heating system was pipes with hot water that ran through the concrete floor, the floor was so hot you couldn't hardly keep your hand on it.
Also have fond memories of when one of those pipes broke, usually about once a school year, and they had to jack hammer the floor out to fix the pipes.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Education is an expense that tends to get shirked-especially in less privileged/wealthy areas. We'd like to think someone is addressing it, but education in America and in Ohio has a lot of funding flaws. You do the best with what you have.

That's really a shame. Our children deserve better. I realize there are some schools in poor condition, but thought they would at least be held to certain minimum safety standards. Guess it varies a lot by state and local municipality.

 

[Colleen27]

I think it's fine to live without AC... provided you have some air flow. Meaning you can open a window. Can the schools in question open windows? Do they have internal classrooms that have no windows?

I cant speak to Ohio schools, but I've never been in an internal classroom in a Michigan school or one without windows. I've seen a handful where the windows don't open, but they're a minority. The more common set up is fixed window above a casement window, which isn't great for ventilation but is better than nothing.