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Heat waves might bring shorter school days

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Newport-Mesa Unified district officials are considering shortening the school day when classroom temperatures reach intolerable levels.

The heat wave that had students sweating in sweltering classrooms in May and again this month has officials struggling to come up with ways to prevent children and teachers from getting stuck in classes without air conditioning.

“We’re having more hot days than we were five years ago,” school board President Karen Yelsey said. “We realize that something needs to be done.”

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The district’s heat advisory committee, which is made up of teachers, administrators, classified staff and Supt. Fred Navarro, requested that a survey be distributed to parents this school year to seek input about the possibility of implementing half-days during extreme heat, said district spokeswoman Laura Boss.

The district hopes to launch the survey in mid-October, Boss said.

“Additionally, in order to accomplish this, the district would have to add additional days to the school calendar, similar to how schools districts with inclement weather handle snow days,” Boss said.

However, trustee Katrina Foley doesn’t agree with the idea of canceling classes because of hot weather. Instead, she suggests moving students into air-conditioned locations at the schools.

The majority of Newport-Mesa’s schools are not completely air conditioned because they were built before air conditioning was widely used, but many schools have cooled spaces.

“You don’t want to cancel school because not every school has this problem,” she said.

District officials are also looking into the cost and the amount of time it would take to install air conditioning in all Newport-Mesa schools.

However, the district doesn’t have funds for the project yet, Boss said.

Installing classroom air conditioning at the 26 other schools would cost an estimated $42.5 million. The district also would incur additional energy and maintenance expenses, facilities director Tim Marsh has said.

Andersen, Eastbluff, Newport Coast, Lincoln and Victoria elementary schools are completely air conditioned. All of Estancia High School’s classrooms are air conditioned, but areas such as the gym and locker rooms are not. The classrooms at Rea Elementary are air conditioned, but the multi-purpose room is not.

In order to begin installing cooling systems in the classrooms, the district would have to identify funding and then have the project approved by the Division of the State Architect, Foley said.

“It’s not a problem that can be solved in a day by flipping a switch,” she said.

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