Wednesday is the first day of school for students in Long Beach – and it’s going to be a warm one, with temperatures reaching the mid-80s. But 18 schools in the Long Beach Unified School District still don’t have air conditioning.
Parents and teachers have been demanding air conditioning at all district schools since last fall’s heat wave, when classroom temperatures reached as high as 97 degrees.
“I spent much of the last month worried that a student could die in my classroom,” special education teacher Sarah Roselli said at a September 2022 Board of Education meeting.
LBUSD received a $1.5 million bond for infrastructure upgrades through Measure E, which voters approved in 2016. 32 schools have already received HVAC upgrades, but another 18 campuses are still waiting.
In response to the outcry, the school district sped up its timeline to install HVAC systems at the remaining schools. But the effort is still on track to take another four years for some schools, according to the Long Beach Post.
Until then, students will have to spend their days in sweltering classrooms.
At their July meeting, LBUSD presented a plan for heat mitigation efforts, including box fans, window coverings, and chilled water dispensers. Maintenance director Dave Van West said the district is also looking into whether battery-operated generators could be used to power portable air conditioning units.
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