PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philly schools are off to a slow start.
More than 70 schools dismissed early Tuesday and Wednesday — the first two days of the school year — due to the extreme heat wave that's smothering the region.
With temps hovering in the mid to upper 90s, the School District of Philadelphia later decided to dismiss nearly 100 schools early on Thursday, Sept. 7, and Friday, Sept. 8, as many school buildings have weak air conditioning systems or none at all.
However, the district has urged school communities not to buy their own air conditioners, saying the issue is not so simple to solve.
District officials say some schools have launched campaigns to buy AC units for their buildings. However, they warn that electrical systems in older buildings need to be upgraded to handle the load of additional air conditioners.
The list of affected schools has expanded to include 86 schools. They are:
Students in the Camden City School District also went back to school this week and they are being sent home early because they can't be kept cool in their school buildings. The same goes for the Upper Darby, Chester Upland, and Pennridge school districts.
Find more school closing-related information here.





