Superintendent Dance To Address Air Conditioning Issues
About 40 percent of county schools lack air conditioning in some classrooms.
The Board of Education has asked the new superintendent to address air conditioning issues at county schools.
Board President Larry Schmidt said Superintendent S. Dallas Dance agreed to provide a systematic review of air conditioning and other infrastructure issues at school facilities in the next couple of months at a board meeting.
"[Lack of air conditioning] is a top, top priority," Dance said.
At this point, Board President Larry Schmidt said about 40 percent of county schools have heat issues. By comparison, all Howard County public schools are properly air conditioned, said Linda Long, a representative for the neighboring county's school system.
"We have the second oldest stock of schools in the state," Schmidt said. "Solutions aren't as simple as people may think. In some cases you have to ask...can the infrastructure in the school support air conditioning?"
Baltimore County Public Schools provided Patch with a document from July 27, 2011—which is attached to this article—that breaks down the air conditioning status at every school.
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's budget for fiscal year 2013 has allotted money to provide air conditioning for 12 public schools. Patch county politics reporter Bryan Sears previously reported that county officials have said it would cost between $400 and $450 million to install air conditioning in schools that are without it.
Ellen Kobler, a county spokeswoman, said it's too early to say which schools will receive funds in fiscal year 2014.
"We choose the ones that can get [air conditioning] the most quickly, at the lowest expense," Kobler said. "This way, the most schools are being taken care of."
This is little comfort to Denise Avara, president of the Parent Teacher Association at Westowne Elementary School in Catonsville.
As an older facility—Westowne opened in 1951—Avara is concerned that the school system will continue to overlook the elementary school.
"Our kids are really suffering," Avara said. "This is really not fair to them."
Avara said parents at Westowne are concerned that the heat makes it difficult for students to concentrate and they are returning home dripping in sweat.
And the situation could get much more dangerous, said Jean Suda, an advocate for air conditioned classrooms.
In September 2007, Suda's son was hospitalized at Greater Baltimore Medical Center for chest pains.
The boy had spent the day at Ridgely Middle School, where he was a student. At the time, the school had classrooms without air conditioning.
"We were scared that he was having a stroke or a heart attack," Suda said. "It was in the high-90s outside, so it felt much worse in the school."
Suda said her son was diagnosed with dehydration and released from the Towson hospital about three hours after admission.
Although her son has since graduated from Ridgely—which received air conditioning in fall 2011—the experience was enough to make Suda a staunch advocate for heat issues in Baltimore County public schools.
"It took four years after I started advocating for Ridgely to get this problem resolved," Suda said. "It's unacceptable."
In This article
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Greater Baltimore Medical Center
6701 N Charles St, Towson, MD -
Ridgely Middle School
121 E Ridgely Rd, Lutherville, MD -
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JD1
10:46 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
It is an expensive infrastructure nightmare. Schools have to be completely overhauled. It's not as simple as dropping a window unit in every classroom.
Tim
10:47 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The tidal wave of angry citizens is really sounding the bell for political education leaders in this county.
The real question is, what the hell were they doing for the past 15-20 years? Sleeping on the job?
Kristen Sayan
7:20 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
It makes me angry to hear this, when in the next breath, BCPS announces that they are building new schools. Let's fix (and where possible, expand) those schools we DO have, before embarking on the building of new schools.
Jessica Tartal
7:52 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
It's even more infuriating that the people making the choices about which schools are getting AC and which aren't, are doing so from their air conditioned offices. Spend a 95 degree day in one of my children's sweltering class rooms and do your work from there!
Bart
8:25 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
It's about time!
Karen Williams
10:29 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Oh the luxury problems, as a grad of bcps and a child who attended one of the oldest schools in balto co. carroll manor, yes it got hot, but we dealt with it, teacher would take the class outside under the trees, we could sit the the shade, in the grass, feeling the light breeze. I think that air conditioning is not a priority, but then again I am not in charge... I find that kids today are a bit spoiled, mine included... I mean really, my 1st grader is begging for her own smartphone and tablet... When I waa her age the most I begged for was a bicycle and a babydoll... Oh how times have changed.... And at just under 40, I feel ancient....
DCMerkle
11:14 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
I remember those days to, but that was back in the days when you had the extra staff to monitor the playgrounds, when you didn't have to worry about a child getting hurt because it was an insurance matter if they did get hurt. That was back in the days when there was equipment for the children to play with. I'm just saying that times have changed to the detriment of the children. Administration would rather have the children stay inside because they feel that it's safer or less strain on the budget and less time in litigation because of playground accidents. In the long run, look what it's cost schools because they were over zealous to meet the budget constraints and the demands of other groups. Children might be safer inside for a lot of reasons, but they forgot that by not allowing them outside for something as simple as recess they were putting the children at risk if not more because the schools were not air conditioned. Basically, they threw out the child with the bathwater.
Baltimore County Parent
11:46 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Karen - I, too, attended a non-air conditioned BCPS school and survived. But what is not obvious unless you spend a lot of time in a school on hot days is that the windows are being replaced in these old schools and the new windows are designed for air conditioned spaces (as are all windows nowadays). Ridgely Middle School had a $13M renovation recently which included new windows -- only 50% of the windows were designed to open and they only opened 6". When schools were designed long ago without a/c, all windows were designed to open and they all opened a full 3' OR swung open a full 90 degrees. Safety does not permit that anymore. We wouldn't keep our dog in a hot car with the windows only opened 6" and we shouldn't do it to our children.
Concerned Mom
4:02 pm on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
This comes down to a safety and health issue and providing our children with an environment that is conducive to learning. Period! I work at Lutherville Lab and the temperatures in those classrooms can reach 90+ degrees in August, September, part of October, part of April, May, and June. Trying to function in a work environment like this is impossible and when the staff is miserable then the children don't get what they need from the staff. If you are not personally subjected to working conditions such as these, then I really don't think anyone has a right to oppose air conditioning in schools that don't have it.
JD1
9:20 pm on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Great point BCP! Most people,don't realize this about the newer windows. They barely open and don't allow any air to circulate. In the good old days, those top windows swung way out along with the bottom ones. When I taught I kept the lights off and had three fans cranking away and it wasn't too bad. Now, it would be like teaching in a greenhouse.
We should close down schools by Memorial Day and open after labor day anyway. No real it teaching or learning takes place in June or May. We all know it but we buy into the idea that the number of school days really makes a difference - its BS. Education is about quality and not quantity.
Gina
9:07 am on Thursday, July 26, 2012
I just want to emphasize something that is often overlooked in comment threads related to A/C in school, and that is that we are not *just* talking about "spoiled" kids suffering in the heat (as if that weren't enough) but all of the teachers, teachers aides, volunteers, cafeteria workers, etc. Some of these employees are pregnant, elderly, or have health conditions. They are not sitting in air-conditioned offices -- they are in the classrooms, gyms, crowded cafeterias with these students. What other indoor work environment can you think of that does not provide temperature control for its workers nowadays? Times change, and we are more aware now of the issues with poor air quality, in addition to the other changes mentioned in the other posts (time spent indoors, academic expectations, testing requirements, style of windows, litigation, etc.) Updating schools to accommodate air conditioning may not be "easy," but it past time that it become a priority.
stacey gillar
9:27 am on Thursday, July 26, 2012
Additionally, I would choose other school districts to live and work in if I was reli acting to the area. I could see the quality of the neighborhoods go down if this ancient practice continues, in light of no fans, new windows, stricter school board rules, allowing less teacher and student freedom and how we are in generally warmer climes these days. Additionally, there will be less good teachers as they will choose schools with better work environments.
I think the cost of operating window units is higher than central a.c. and it is louder in the room, too.
JD1
9:55 am on Thursday, July 26, 2012
What's crazy is it can be just as bad in the winter! Some rooms are so hot the kids feel like they are dying - they go to the next class and its freezing. This is what happens when contract goes tomthenlow bidder or pal of the school board.
Meg O'Hare
3:59 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012
Citizens should be outraged that the Baltimore County School Board = Baltimore County Government did not air condition schools when times were good. No building happens without Baltimore County Government participation (read control). For many years, Baltimore County Government ignored the aging schools until it was almost too late.
Two elementary schools were built in Baltimore County in the mid 1990's without air conditioning, specifically Seven Oaks Elementary and Joppa View Elementary, both in Perry Hall I think. This is unconscionable.
Oh well, the school where Larry Schmidt's wife teaches is scheduled to get air conditioning soon.
Time to get a fully elected school board. Real citizens who are not influenced by politicians because school board elections are non partisan. If we can be trusted to elect president, governors, U.S senators, congressmen, state senators and delegares, County Executives and County Councilmen/women, I guess we can make informed decisons about who should be on the Baltimore County Board of Education.