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Seems like a pretty simple question, right? After this week’s heatwave, the heat dome, the air quality alerts, and numerous discussions about why kids should or shouldn’t be in school on these insanely hot days, there seems to be a bigger question: Why don’t ALL schools have air conditioning?

Hot classrooms spark heated debate in Hudson Valley

Earlier this week we looked in depth at a simple question – Do you send your children to school on these brutally hot days?? The answers were, as expected, mixed and covered a wide range of viewpoints, from “absolutely not in this heat” to “for half a day it’s probably OK” to “yes, my children are coming, nothing will happen to them”.

Reactions to this article have also been mixed, which is not surprising since Hudson Valley residents from near and far have weighed in with hundreds of comments on various social media platforms about the conditions in our local schools and how they are affecting students and staff in this hot weather. Taking the sarcastic remarks and comments out of the equation, it seems like the general concern is why only some schools (or certain areas of the school) have air conditioning?

This topic is at the top of many people’s minds, obviously with the Pressure for the latest bill Students and teachers are prohibited from entering classrooms where a certain temperature limit is exceeded.

SEE ALSO: These things are free now because of the hot weather

Concerns about air conditioning in schools

It should come as no surprise that a study from 2020 of 12,000 school districts reported that testing conditions above 27°C negatively affected standardized test scores.

We know that some districts here in the Hudson Valley have indicated that their key testing areas have air conditioning, but the question remains: What about the rest of the school?

The National Education Association published a study in 2022 indicating that by 2025 there will be a 30% increase (since 1970) in the number of school districts with 32 or more days of temperatures above 80 degrees, and that more than 10.8 million students will have three more weeks of school days with temperatures above 80 degrees in 2025 than in 1970.

Tina W. in a public post in a public thread The question of whether children should be sent to school on these hot days reflected the rise in temperature:

In the 70s and 80s it was never this hot

This, of course, sparked a larger debate about how hot is hot, when it usually gets that hot, etc., but other Hudson Valley residents, like Glenn A., were quick to provide evidence that it has indeed been hotter recently: “Current temperatures are hitting several record highs,” and Thea P. echoed, “According to the news, that was the hottest June day in thirty years…”

Show me the money

Data provided by www.coolingcris.org takes a look at New York State in 2019 and explains that the capital cost of installing window air conditioners in over 13,000 (NYC) public school classrooms has risen to $334 million, which is seven times more than the 2017 estimate. A visual breakdown of the costs and students affected can be found below, and the link to more information about the The New York State report, including a county breakdown, can be found here:

It seems like it really does come down to funding – installation, maintenance/upkeep/repairs, all of that costs money. In dozens of hundreds of comments asking where our tax dollars go and why not all rooms in the school are air conditioned, Jennifer L. shared the following in a public post:

Teachers pay out of their own pockets for basic supplies. I think you overestimated how much (money) goes to public schools

Meghan R. provides additional context:

People tend to cite tax dollars and ask why don’t all schools have air conditioning. Please keep in mind that school taxes are used to fund education for the school year. In many districts, like my own, most if not all buildings are 60 to 100 years old and do not have the existing capacity to run air conditioning or modern HVAC systems to make it happen. This type of project is not included in a school’s annual budget. And never has been. Most communities cannot afford to build new facilities and must make do with what they have. In many cases, these are old, dilapidated buildings that have more pressing structural issues that must be addressed before air conditioning can even be considered.

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