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Published Saturday, August 14, 2010 in Local
Broken air conditioning makes it hot at East Coweta ninth-grade campus
By Jeff Bishop
The Newnan Times-Herald
With the first day of school coming much earlier than it did a generation ago, and with an especially hot summer, it can be a challenge to keep students cool and safe from the time they get to school in the early morning until the time they hop off the un-air-conditioned bus in the afternoon.
Even the school buildings themselves can be difficult to keep cool.
Parents of East Coweta High School ninth graders have complained this week about students being over-heated due to a malfunctioning air conditioning unit.
"I was wanting someone to look into why the ninth grade campus at East Coweta High School does not have working air conditioning," said parent Kristy Ivey. "They have been in school for a week now and still do not have air. My daughter has gotten sick and almost passed out in her afternoon classes."
Dean Jackson, spokesperson for the Coweta County School System, said that the maintenance department has been trying to resolve the issue.
"There is a problem with the cooling tower at the East Coweta High ninth grade campus," Jackson said Friday afternoon. "It trips off, and has to be reset manually each time."
The temperature in the classrooms has remained safe, though perhaps a bit uncomfortable, he said.
"The temperature inside classrooms has stayed at around 76 degrees inside -- not cool and probably not always comfortable, but not extremely hot, either," he said.
"We have had folks working on the tower throughout this week, and will continue to work on it until it is fixed," he said.
"We hope to have the problem resolved by next week," said Jackson.
The school system "allows and encourages" water on school buses for the trip home in the afternoons, Jackson said. Bringing a water bottle to class may not be such a bad idea, either, until the air conditioning is repaired at the ECHS ninth grade campus building.
To beat the heat, "the single biggest thing we do is minimize time outside to stay in the cool and, so yes, outdoor programs are curtailed generally," said Jackson.
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The only air conditioning we had when I was going to school was the breeze created by the paddle the principal used to whoop your booty. The breeze felt good but the whooping didn't.
Posted by Old timer at 11:11 AM
I totally agree with mb. We never had air conditioning on the school buses OR in the classroom, and we learned our lessons and graduated. Why is being cool so important now??
Posted by Cool Cucumber at 12:35 PM
I'm 60 years old and I survived classrooms withour air conditioning. But wait, your child is special and needs all these taxpayer funded amenities to learn basic R&R skills.How will they survive in the real world.
Posted by mb at 5:43 AM
The AC is also out in some of the main building classrooms, too. Two box fans and an open hallway door make it pretty difficult to hear...
Posted by indian at 10:16 PM
Just another reason for waiting until after Labor day to return to school.
Posted by Concerned parent at 12:43 PM
Imagine being in a room with 35 other people with no air circulation, it is going to feel a lot warmer then 76 degrees. Gyms have always been hot... outside is hot....school busses are hot....But when you are in a hot classroom, that is not the best learning environment, and that will show in testing and other areas
Posted by 4kidsforme at 11:59 AM
Well, we are not "allowed" to turn our air below 76 degrees, per memo from the central office. Now it's news that it's too hot? Interesting.
Posted by Coweta teacher at 2:12 AM
76 is cooler than I keep my house. Give it a rest!
Posted by ND at 12:51 AM
If the air conditioning goes down in one of the schools cut of the air in the Central Offices so that the administration can feel the students discomfort. Better still turn of the air conditioning in the central offices to save money.
Posted by Disgusted at 11:30 PM
Not sure when or where it started, but kids today are so pampered to the point of it being ridiculous. I am not that old and I remember going to school at ECHS and we did not have air conditioning. The gym had a large fan at both ends. Football players practiced in full gear when it was very hot. And we did not get water every five minutes. We were lucky to get water every hour. Both parents and students need to quit complaining. Nothing is free. If you want top notch air conditioning and you feel that the school is not providing it currently, either raise the money privately or allow the county to raise your taxes.
I would be more concerned about the level of education that your child is receiving versus whether or not the temperature is 72 or 76 degrees.
Posted by Old School at 2:37 PM
What makes it even worse for the 9th grade buildings at all 3 high schools is that there is no ventilation in the rooms. One door and no windows that open. The science rooms don't have any windows at all - not conducive to learning. Very poor planning.
Posted by Veteran Teacher at 1:54 PM
My son is a 9th grader this year and has class upstairs in the 9th grade building in the afternoon. He has come home every day with his clothes soaking wet, this is after sitting for 1.5 hours in a classroom with no air and then riding a school bus home with no air. The class has 32 students and one fan! Something must be done immediately to resolve this problem. Surely the problem with the a/c was know prior to the opening of school. Come on Coweta County schools, get the air on at EC!
Posted by SGmom at 1:15 PM
I think for the sake safty and taxpayer"s cost in electricty and liabilty they should start in September. The state needs to change back to school date.
Posted by ron at 12:33 PM
Yes, Mr. Jackson, you are correct. The best thing we can do is to minimize the time outside in order to stay cool. The only problem is that these students who are leaving, or who are coming to, the 9th grade building at ECHS are required to walk outside between class changes. They are not allowed down Longstreet where it is cool. They leave a building with no AC and then walk outside where it is 99 degrees...sometimes even to the other side of campus by the football fields.
Posted by Beat the Heat at 11:41 AM
I think it absolutely ridiculous to be starting school this early any way... August ...probably the hottest month of the year... would love to know how much the bill is to cool these buildings in August and the cost savings of waiting a week or two and shaving a day or two from the multitude of breaks during the year....
Posted by But that's just me... at 11:41 AM
ECHS is not the only hot building. The air conditioners can't keep up anywhere.
Posted by Educator at 11:24 AM
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Ninth grade building
8/17/2010
Link To This Comment
The air at the EC 9th grade building does work. The problem lies in the cooling tower. You see, when the school system does studies for such an appliance they use a standard of September till June temperatures in order to determine what type of cooling tower to use. However, since the school year now starts in August (which boasts temperatures on average of almost 30 degrees more than September) The equipment in the building simply cannot handle the job. Let's not point fingers at the school system employees that are doing the beast they can with a situation that is not their fault.
Posted by Chad at 1:32 PM