PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The new school year promises to be more comfortable at some Philadelphia schools that now have air conditioning.
Several schools received air conditioning units over the summer, and Superintendent Tony Watlington said seven to eight buildings will have air-conditioned classrooms when classes begin on Aug. 26.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts donated $200,000 back in April, which allowed the district to purchase 300 air conditioning units for those schools.
“Our schools have not had adequate air conditioning, such that when we have really hot temperatures we’ve had to close. We’ve reduced that number by a good seven to eight schools thanks to the generosity of Jalen Hurts,” Watlington said Tuesday at the district’s annual Ring the Bell PHL ceremony at Citizens Bank Park.
The district said 63 of its 226 buildings are still inadequately cooled.
“The reason we can’t just get all of them air-conditioned quickly is … it’s not just a matter of throwing air conditioning units into a window,” Watlington noted. “We have to do some considerable electrical work in some buildings where the average age of our schools is nearly 75 years old.”
The Hurts donation is providing air conditioning to the following schools:
— Clara Barton School
— Gloria Casarez Elementary School
— Castor Gardens Middle School
— Thomas K. Finletter School
— Edwin Fitler Academics Plus School
— Benjamin Franklin High School and Science Leadership Academy
— Edward Gideon School
— Roosevelt Elementary School
— Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy
— William M. Meredith School