Ms Taylor-Mitchell - I would prefer to see that money is spent for educating the children. I attended Hampton, and Towsontown, and Towson High. 12 years of school with no air conditioning, and yet, I'm here to tell the story. "Drenched in sweat," I somehow soldiered on.

Having grown up and went to school in the 60s and 70s, I have trouble being sympathetic about this issue. I can distinctly remember attending school one winter where work was being done on the heating system, and there were actually holes in the walls, and we had no heat whatsoever. We learned to type with gloves and mittens on our hands! And every spring/summer, we were lucky if we had a classroom that had a fan. To the best of my recollection, no one ever fainted from the heat. Yes, it got horribly hot, but it's one of the many things that taught us to deal with adversity, which is something that many young people today aren't learning. They will survive, even if they have to tolerate less than optimum conditions.

Sorry, suck it up. Why must we keep babying our kids??? So it hot, deal with it.

I too attended schools without air conditioning. I understand the thought of "suck it up" but the problem is really more complicated than that. Children with allergy and asthma problems (a situation that is unfortunately becoming more prevalent) are missing school, or are so sick and miserable while they are there, to the extent their learning is effected. I routinely volunteer in my childrens school. I am in there and it's much worse than you think. I encourage parents to spend a day (or several, we could really use the volunteers but that is a rant for another day) in those buildings. I assure you, your opinions would change! The buildings feel like brick ovens with little to no air flow in the classrooms. There are "fans" in the classrooms but until our PTA took the initiative half of them didn't work. Spend some time sweltering WITH your children and experiencing how sick some of the kids can get. PLEASE!!! An uneducated opinion is a worthless one. Educate yourself!

I too volunteered in my children's school and it was sometimes unbearable. My kids would come home exhausted and with headaches. I say we let the politicians spend a day or two in a classroom like that. The Baltimore County jail has A/C, but our children don't. REALLY????

Soldier on? Tolerate less than optimum conditions? Suck it up? I can't believe the above reactions to Ms. Taylor-Mitchell's letter. And I'm willing to bet that Mark, Donna, and Mary Jo would not be willing to go without their home AC, the AC in their cars, their cell phones and smart phones, their Fios or Xfinity, and whatever other technologies have come to distinguish their lifestyle from that of their parents.

Ms. Taylor-Mitchell makes two important points. The first is about airconditioning and the fact that Joe Hairston and the Board of Education have allowed BCPS to trail woefully behind surrounding school systems. Schools now have "smart boards" and "elmos" and language labs and a variety of other technologies designed to improve the learning environment and, in turn, the success of students as they progress from grade to grade. Airconditioning is a part of that environment.

But the more important issue is climate control. I taught at Loch Raven High School for 27 years. Because of the unusual zoning of its heating/cooling system, there could be as much as a fifteen degree difference between rooms on the outside wall of the building and rooms across the hall on the core of the building. Moving from one side of the hall to the other at the change of periods could be a startling experience and create a perceptible distraction for teachers and students alike. Try dealing with that on a routine basis and see how fast you say "Deal with it!"

We soldiered on when we were kids -- but the windows in the school actually OPENED. The new windows in place at Ridgely, among other schools, do not let in a fraction of the breeze that we caught in the 60s, 70s, 80s -- pick your decade. The schools also have a closed-door policy now, for security reasons -- the classrooms cannot prop their doors open the way they used to be allowed to. Add global warming into the mix, and you DO have kids who are suffering more than we suffered, in the identical building, some decades prior.

I am always curious when I hear people claim that because they lived through it kids today should also live through it. You may have lived through polio, lead poisoning and many other things of the past but we know better now. We have a greater understanding of how the environment impacts health and in turn impacts learning. A child who spends the entire day in an above 90 degree classroom cannot learn - they spend the entire day fanning themselves and trying to cool off. Sweltering heat causes headaches and I conquer that with allergy rates soaring keeping the classrooms cool by running fans that bring pollen into the classrooms is a bad idea. I think it is an irrelevant argument that just because we used to do it means we should keep doing it. That isn’t progress. We should be striving to do better.

agree with the article.

I love hearing all of these bitter folks saying they "soldiered on". Doesn't make it right.
Additionally, we all grew up before the CFCs were dumped into the atmosphere.
It's definitely worse now then before.

Finally, technology and affordability levels were MUCH different in the 70's and 80's compared to today. It was prohibitively expensive in our day to have full AC.

If you want the money spent on 'education' guess what geniuses? The learning environment has a major role in the ability of students to learn. Schools without AC are places the best teachers don't want to teach in. You "suck it up" crowd want your students taught by the best available? Right? I'm sure students are really focused on learning when room temperatures are pushing 80 degrees and they are constantly squirming in their seats.

Taking this further, the amount of time required off from "learning" due to excessive heat days is again, quality learning time lost. As a nation our K-12 school requirements are pathetic as it is. It's insane that we are have to give kids off the equivilent of another week off many summers due to this. Or, conversely, making them stay in school - in the same hot summer - another week in a non-AC environment.

I am absolutely appalled at the lack of AC in our county schools, especially the newer ones. It's an embarassment to the county.

I'm sorry, but for all those people that think that others should "suck it up", let me put this question to you. If you feel that your children are entitled to safe housing, then why shouldn't that same way of thinking be extended to schools? How many parents have smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors or a security system in your homes? How many of you have your heating and cooling systems checked every year to make sure that they are in proper working order? Why are you sending out the message to your children that we love you and want to see that you are comfortable at home, but not at school?

Questions - how much does retro-fitting A/C into one of these schools cost? Where does the money go that is not being spent on A/C? Were the 'new' schools built to help an over-crowding problem in other schools? In today's world of limited financial resources, many issues might be involved here. There are surely trade-offs. In a perfect world all schools would be climate controlled and class sizes would be small.

As a parent of two children who attended Ridgely and one who will be heading there this fall, there are two things that really tick me off about the Ridgely situation: First, the Board of Education allowed a rennovation plan designed with air conditiong in mind to proceed after the administration cut the chiller funding from the budget, causing the Ridgely facility to act like a convection oven when inside temperaturs reach over 90 degrees. Second, the school's adminstration recognizes the effect this has on the students yet continues to publicly deny there is a problem. Case in point, when it comes to the tests that measure the school's progress, the students take them in the air conditioned library. When the student's take tests that measure their own progress, they take them in the classroom. In short, it is appalling to me that the focus of the School Board and the Ridgely administration, both of whom work in air conditioned environments, is solely about school performannce on the MSA's. As a parent and tax payer, I demand that the focus be on the children and their ability to be successful, which includes an environment where our children can learn and our teachers can work. Put in windows that open all the way or install the chiller - baking our children because of negligence is not an option.

Hey, let's hear it for the brain trust over at Greenwood! Never let it be said that they want our children baked. Just announced at 4 o'clock on WJZ: Baltimore County Public Schools will be closing two hours early tomorrow!

La-Z-Boy recliners for each student would be nice too. Oh and shoulder and neck massages between classes.

Yeah but the graduation numbers are up!! Dont worry about learning and stuff like that... as long as the children are happy and comfortable (and leave with a trophy/diploma) ... This is sad, really sad...

In the first place, when you see a sentence such as "Two pregnant teachers fainted at Hebbville Elementary school three years ago at Westowne Elementary," you have to wonder what else is all mixed up here. I happen to feel that the chief cause for the effete nature of today's young adults is the pampering and protection they receive all through childhood. And then they leave college and can't handle it when they have to (horrors!) work out of doors or in intemperate areas or (perish the thought!) have to rely upon themselves to solve a problem or deal with unfavorable conditions. They've been taught for years, just holler and raise a fuss, and the world will change to suit you. The schools spend twelve years telling the kids that the whole world eagerly awaits their arrival and will continue to make life as easeful and comfortable as it has been in school...and the kids find out that isn't going to be the case! A little sacrifice in comfort pays big dividends later. And finally - they get out of school whenever it gets too hot, which never happened back in the Mesozoic Era when I was learning to be an adult.

Let's keep in mind, folks: When we were in school, the school year ended at Memorial Day, and restarted after labor Day, and the windows opened so a breeze could flow through. These kids would already be spending their days out playing, swimming or whatever, not still going to school in 100 degree heat with no Air Conditioning.

While I agree with Ms. Taylor-Mitchell in regards to Ridgely Middle School receiving AC due to the greenhouse effect that is taking place because of a disjointed renovation job in the building i DO NOT agree with people demanding AC in all BCPS. I attended BCPS during the 90's, 2 of which did not have AC, and the school year was JUST as long, the days were JUST as hot but the difference is we sucked it up. Children today are accustomed to being pampered and spoiled. They are glued to a TV, Gameboy, PC, iPod/iPad, DVDs in the cars, AC blasting and now WE as tax payers need to pay for them to be spoiled at school? How about we spoil their minds with enhanced curriculums, newer books, qualified and nurturing teachers or an English program that teaches students how to write? My parents pulled me out of public school after 8th grade because my education was suffering and I was not challenged by my “close to retirement” teachers. I would be very disappointed to see more funds go to unnecessary capitol improvements during this volatile economic time.

I teach in a BCPS building with no AC. Trust me, it's hot--really hot. The windows barely open, the halls are stifling, and the classrooms are ovens. Teaching and learning in these conditions is truly a challenge for everyone. It has nothing to do with being intolerant of the heat, or unable to "suck it up". . .it's just the reality. My own children attend an AC'd school and for many years, I taught in a building with AC. I guarantee you that a MUCH higher quality of learning is occuring in those schools during these heat spells, and I can also assure you that it has nothing to do with the credentials of the teacher who is running the classroom. Many amazingly talented teachers make the choice to work and continue working in un-airconditioned schools. The world has changed in so many ways since "back when I went to school. . ." We now live in an air-conditioned world--at least in Baltimore County. It is not a detriment that our children are growing up where they are generally afforded basic physical comforts. We have air conditioned homes, cars and places of employment (sorry teachers). People complain that we are creating a society of "wusses" because we aren't teaching kids to deal with it when it is 90+ degrees INSIDE their classroom. Really? I suspect that most of those people would complain just a little bit if they were sticking to their chair and dripping from head to toe for 6+ hours a day. Oh wait-those people probably have AC--no need to complain.

"Two pregnant teachers fainted at Hebbville Elementary school three years ago at Westowne Elementary." is a poor sentence and should have been edited. With that said. I think we're being abit over the top with our comments here and also the entire discussion is missing the point. Generally speaking, I agree with the non-AC camp here in that schools should be built keeping in mind that only about 4 - 6 weeks of the entire school year actually require the use of AC. School calendars and the laws that regulate those calendars should also limit the number of days that schools actually require AC. Beyond this, there should be a limited number of climate controlled schools that can be used for summer schooling. This seems to me to be necessary. Our county needs to think much more like a family does when it deals with its budget. I try to keep my AC off as late into the summer as I can and if I get a cool day I turn it off. I do the same with regard to my heat in the fall and winter. We need school policy that works in concert with fiscal policy. The issue here is that we consistently have a failure in leadership. Our leaders can't connect the dots that a school year that runs to June 17th is not good for the budget. We have too many holidays and too many school stoppages before the June and that is causing the cooling issue. Our schools have run without AC for decades and can still run with out it, but our school year during that period did not run this long.

Don't like it
Plenty of private schools around that will take your $$$ and keep your kids school

Kids and teachers should be in a working comparable to CEO's. They are all trying to work hard and concentrate.

Whoops - working environment.

Laurie Taylor-Mitchell asked that I post the following comment:

As someone noted, there is a typographical error in the letter as it was posted, but this does not affect the content. Two pregnant teachers did faint in Hebbville Elementary school, and teachers do teach at Westowne Elementary with the windows open in the winter because the classrooms are so hot.

To my knowledge, fans are not provided by BCPS for classrooms. Teachers either have to bring in their own, or sympathetic parents have donated them. In addition, if classrooms are hot enough, as they are sometimes at Ridgely, fans actually make the classroom hotter.

Some of the writers might wish to look at the document posted by the editor comparing Baltimore County with the surrounding Counties. Are those Counties “coddling” their thousands of children and hundreds of teachers?

The state of Utah has strict requirements about heat in schools – requirements that come from their Dept. of Public Health – schools must document temperatures between May and September. When children come home sick and exhausted from heat in Baltimore County schools, they aren’t learning much there, except perhaps that the administrators in all schools are more important than they are.

Last part of her comment:
Last but not least, those who think that climate control is somehow a “luxury” might try working in an 80-degree room for six hours with 35 bodies in it and see how productive you are. Also, be sure to turn off the AC in your home, car, and office. Try going to a mall, a restaurant or a movie theater without air conditioning. Do you think your children deserve less while they are working?

Let's not forget that one of the repercussions of not having all schools air conditioned is that on days like this, when the county closes early in consideration of the schools without AC, kids in the AC schools also lose valuable instructional time because BCPS is a system and cannot selectively close some schools and not others. That works in the Hereford Zone in the winter, but that is an extreme situation. By contrast, in Anne Arundel County today, only Waugh Chapel Elementary is closing at 11 AM due to a power outage affecting its air conditioning. According to the system's website, "All other schools are open and operating on a normal schedule."

To Mark W.: Too bad you left public school after grade 8. The 80s and 90s were the time of Maryland's "Project Basic," which required high school students to pass four tests, including a two-part writing test, in order to graduate. The English 9 curriculum placed a high priority on teaching narrative, expository, and persuasive writing skills. Students not passing the test were offered remediation, including summer school, in order to develop the competencies demanded by the writing test. As a high school English department chairman, I remember a collective shudder at a county DC meeting in the late 70s when we learned that a state test was coming that would require kids to do actual writing. And guess what? Some of the most resourceful and effective classes I ever observed were English 9 lessons in writing!

The animosity that some readers show towards Towson just baffles me. Why the anger? You and your communities have the same right to advocate for the children in your communities. Just because you aren't doing it, doesn't mean that we should stop doing it. As to Mark's comment above: West Towson was not designed to alleviate overcrowding at Stoneleigh Elementary. No students from the Stoneleigh school district were assigned to West Towson. Building West Towson was just one stage of a three stage plan created by BCPS to alleviate overcrowding in Towson - a problem that has been known and unresolved for too long. Don't blame the parents of Towson for the failures of the school system.

Some of these comments are unbelievable. Students USED to walk to school barefoot in the snow and get whipped with a switch by their teachers. Times change. Also, as has been mentioned, schools are the only indoor work environment I can think of where employees are expected to work in a non-temperature-controlled environment (indoors). My son is at Hampton Elementary, which currently does not have A/C but will have it after the renovations are complete within the next two years, and when he comes home his hair is drenched in sweat. He is skinny and wiry and quite active, so the sweating is not because he is overweight or out of shape. We have central A/C at home, so that is what he is used to, but it's not like we keep it super-cold.

I have friends/coworkers in other County school districts, and they can't believe that our schools are closing because of heat. Most of the schools in their counties have A/C, and the few that don't will close on an individual basis. Why Balt. Co. can't seem to figure out how to coordinate school closings so that only those without A/C close, as other counties do, is beyond me.

As for the comment about schools in Towson: people who have this impression that all we do is ask for more money for our schools as if we are entitled obviously have not actually come to observe our schools. Come to Hampton Elementary and you will see that, aside from not having A/C, we currently have 10 trailers on site -- and part of the students' playground had to be dismantled in order to make room for the most recent two. All they have for playground equipment now are the old metal climbing bars. My son's first grade classroom has 27 students in it; others have 28. With one teacher and usually no aide. The building was built in 1958, so many of the classroom sizes aren't even up to recommended standards. I can't speak for Stoneleigh or the other schools in Towson not having been to them personally, but I can tell you that Hampton is using every square inch of its facility (and outside the facility!) with enrollment continuing to rise. Last year they added a first grade class bringing it up to four. Next year they will have five second grade classes. How many trailers are acceptable before people will believe that a "Towson" school needs an addition? 12? 15? We are fortunately getting our addition, but it took a lot of work and advocacy to ensure we got the funding for it. It is sad that the impression people have from reading the media is that "Towson" schools just want to "change the world to suit [us]." Come visit a Towson school before you make judgments...

@George W. Nellies - Thank goodness my parents pulled me out of public school when they did. I was afforded one of the best private school educations this state/country have to offer. It is all to easy for students to be "lost in the system" at BCPS when they are not part of the gifted and talented/AP programs. I see the difference in the writing abilities of my peers who are BCPS graduates.

@Gina - I attended Hampton Elementary and like your son we did not have the luxury of air condition except in the TRAILERS. (yes there were trailers then too). If you are complaining about student to teacher ratio, air-conditioning and usable space it sounds like your family would enjoy private school. BCPS is there to provide your son or daughter with an education.

I happen to be one of the MANY Baltimore county tax paying residents that does not have central air. I do not use a window unit because I think they are hideous. Somehow I have lived another day to tell my story.

I work at Lutherville Lab Elementary and I invite anyone who is against schools having AC to come and witness the lines that form at the nurse's office due to dizziness, vomiting, stomach aches, headaches, heat exhaustion, dehydration, and asthma attacks. I welcome you to come to the lunchroom and try to eat lunch in a cafeteria that is over 80 degrees. Many kids don't have an appetite which then results in yet more visits to the nurse. Often they go outside for recess and phys-ed and then have to come back to classrooms that reach 90 degrees or higher. Unless you are lucky enough to have computer lab or library, you sit in the classrooms and bake. Most kids never have the opportunity to cool down during the day. Why can't classrooms at least have a large, powerful, commercial ceiling fan to help cool things down? I don't understand why the health department doesn't get more involved in obtaining a better learning environment for our children. We often hear about putting education and children first so that we can compete with the rest of the world, but aren't we just paying lip service to the whole idea when we accept the deplorable conditions that our children have to contend with? It is very hard to respect anyone's opinion on this topic if you do not have a child who attends a school that doesn't have AC and/or works in a school that doesn't have AC.

This is an emotional issue but the facts speak for themselves. This is from the Baltimore Sun, dated 9/16/09 "Slightly more than half of the county's school, center & program buildings lack ac. During a presentation last December, school officials said it could take 7 to 10 years to install ac in the nearly 90 schools without it - & that retrofitting buildings just for ac could easily exceed $450 million". This figure does not account for the fuel costs to run the ac systems & any money needed for repairs.The total budget for the county schools is more than the budgets for the Police, Fire, Health, 911 services,Corrections, Social Services & the County Libraries combined. Teacher positions are being cut down by 200 positions due to the economy. The number of students that receive free lunch or reduced lunch has increased from 26% to 46% in the past 10 years. The 2013 budget year is predicted to be worse than the current Fiscal year that starts 7/1/11. The budget is suffering due to cuts in State & Federal grants that the school system receives.Baltimore County has had significant reductions in state aid in the past few years, & this year the county must absorb another $6.6 million in administrative costs that the General Assembly is passing on to the county. It was just announced that Baltimore County employees would not be receiving cost of living raises for the next 3 years. County employees are also going to be paying more for Health insurance in the new budget year.

Continuation of the above:

This all is due to the present state of the economy. We all have to understand that the economy is not getting better & we all have to tighten our belts. Maybe there could be an option like ceiling fans in the classroom that could help for the month that the heat is a problem. But demanding ac in all schools right away is not practical in this economy.

I, too, went to schools in the 60's and 70's that were not air-conditioned. Neither was our house or car. That was a very long time ago. We have all gotten used to air-conditioning in our homes, cars and just about everywhere we go. I'll bet those of you who said "suck it up" or deal with it, would not be going to your office if the air-conditioning were not on or broken. I have been a teacher in schools without air-conditioning for 27 years. It is unbearable on days like these. We have some fans, which blow the hot air around. I would welcome you to visit...not just walk in and walk out, but come spend a day with us. I'd like to see you change your tune then.

Windows that don't open? Maryland political decision making at it's worst.

I agree, you would be lots more comfy on a roof blasting you with 160 degree heat.

Maybe you could become a swimming instructor at your school.

I'll make a deal with parents, teachers, and the kids. Tax payers with no kids will put AC in the schools if they remain open all year and the kids and teachers get only 4 weeks vacation annually. Kid could graduate 2 years earlier, Since teachers are paid annually teachers would work all year just as everyone else. By the way where's the extra money going to come from to pay the greater electric bill. I'm tired of endlessly being forced to fork over ever more money in the name of education and in exchange getting very little return.

Neversure;

Sorry but I already pumped out my children. They are all doing well as adults in the roofing business.

Today at my school a teacher needed to be transported via ambulance to the er. The temp in the room was 96 degrees. Who knows what the humidity was? Yes, maybe we all should suck it up, but with the Race To the Top, No Child Left Behind the teachers are under a great deal of pressure to make sure children are learning and showing it on tests. Many students did not come to school today, parents called, their child's asthma was acting up. We could not even imagine the amount of money that is spent on computers that seem to be replaced with newer models every couple years. One would think that rather then run all the county buses 1/2 days and just combine them to make a whole day, the money that could be saved on gas alone would probably air condition several schools for several years. In addition, the number of children with asthma has increased. The BCPS does not operate with frugality on many issues where they could save tremendous amounts of money. The money saved could easily aircondition all of our schools. In addition, leaders will say the newer schools have A/C when this issue is brought up. The county is good at putting on a dog and pony show. The central area schools where more affluent constituents live have a higher ratio of air conditioned schools then the areas where middle and lower class constituents live. The news media in this county are like state run media. BCPS school system is full of problematic newsworthy issues.

I teach in an un-air conditioned high school with three floors. I have been extremely happy with the early dismissals because walking through the hallways and classrooms with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees is unbearable. The building was built 50 years ago and as windows are replaced they no longer open. A room with few opening windows and full sun either morning or afternoon is bound to be miserable for all working. (students and teachers) My room can easily reach the upper 80's on a sunny day even in October. Windows and doors are closed overnight for security reasons and the building does not re-open until the following day. The heat is trapped inside and does not dissipate easily.
Air conditioning in the buildings is not an unreasonable request. I would happily invite the nay-sayers into the classrooms and challenge them to remain and complete their expected workload in this type of environment.

I'm glad that my kid's future schools all have AC, but I'll be happy to help pay to retrofit the remaining schools.

I realize this can't be done in a couple years, a modification of this magnitude...but something's has got to be completed in the next decade. Economy or not, this is ridiculous.

I work in a hot school. I went to school in a hot school. I lived in homes with no air conditioning. I went to school in Richmond, Virginia where heat was a different animal than it is here. The key difference is this: My school had screened windows that opened wide. WIDE. Ridgely's doesn't. My school had ceiling fans. Ridgely doesn't. Back in the 60s when air conditioning might have been invented but we weren't rich enough to afford it, we dressed in loose fitting clothes, used fans to our advantage, and we sweated. But remember, the schools were built so that air could circulate - Ridgely's rennovation called for Air conditioning, so that outside air coming in and circulating wasn't a priority.
I work in a hot school. Despite our memories of growing up and sweating through it, let me tell you, hot, sweaty teens, tweens, and little kids cry more, get angry quicker, and do far less work. When I was in first grade, we were concentrating on our letters, now, kids write sentences in first grade. When I was in kindergarten, it was full day with a mandated nap. Now it is half day, and the kids are learning to read, add and subtract. Ladies and gentlemen, we are requiring more of our kids, the least we can do is provide them with a comfortable learning environment. How well would you work if you were stifling in your office day in and day out?

We need to modernize our aging schools, and adding air conditioning is part of the big picture. Common sense tells us that people learn better when they are physically comfortable. As the parent of a child having asthma, particularly during times of heavy pollen, I have another set of concerns besides my child learning in an uncomfortable environment. Times have changed, asthma and allergies are on the rise, and we need to change with the times, too. My child attends a BCPS school built in 1930. A teacher I know there said that her classroom was registering 90 degrees this past Thursday. Luckily, school closed early that day due to extreme heat. However, we should remember that when school closes early, there is less time for teachers and students to be productive. Why is it that BCPS and Baltimore City schools report so many un-airconditioned schools while neigboring counties have high rates (some counties such as Howard are at 100%) of air-conditioned schools? Baltimore County parents, keep speaking up so school officials and local politicians hear us!

The generation of crusty cranks arguing they went to schools w/o AC s- so why do kids need it now? - competed for their ditch-digging and crab-processing jobs against others who likewise lost 10 percent of the school year to heat-related inattention and torpor.

The kids of today, however, will be competing against peers able to concentrate year-round. But that's cool (so to speak.) The Baltimore area is the armpit of the nation, and living here is an increasingly third-world experience. And nothing characterizes a third-world peasant more than indignation at the forces of modernization and improvement.

Jim, I submit to you, if you feel "The Baltimore area is the armpit of the nation, assuming you are of sound mind, when can we expect you to move?

Gil,
Based on the current job market and family obligations, certainly not before 2014-15. But I'll let you know if things improve.

As a life-long resident of Baltimore County and a graduate of the BCPS, I attended school in both buildings with and without AC. Yes, I survived and prospered, but times have changed and adding climate controls to all BCPS needs to be addressed! Valid points have already been raised: lack of air flow, increased illnesses in our children, etc. To the point someone mentioned that the money should be spent on "educating our children" don't they realize that the climate control schools are closed as well when temperatures in those schools less fortunate are closed? Recently, I was in the school without AC for about 1.5 hours, in the morning before it reached peak temperatures, and it was extremely uncomfortable. Kudos to the staff, teachers & kids for attempting to thrive in this type of environment. Closing schools for weather related events, be it extreme heat or snow or ice, is a loss for our kids. Not only is core learning time missed but so is extra curricular activities such musical performances, field trips, etc. For parents who work and count on the before/after child care provided at the schools by Open Door, Play Groups, etc. they are also inconvenienced because they have to make other arrangements and may lose time from work. Closing an entire school system for extreme heat is something we can do something about!

I can tell you one thing the young people can do to make themselves more comfortable....

SHED SOME TONNAGE!

I by no means suggested that the current rise in teen obesity is purely the fault of the schools, although when I went to school and we had phys ed, very few kids had weight problems when I was a kid. Today if you're not overweight in school, you're an oddity! How very sad! The fact remains fat people are far more uncomfortable in heat than thin people, that was my only point.

Bottom line about spending money right now for AC in schools. Any money for anything paid for by the government needs to be put on hold until we balance the budget. That applies to both states and federal budgets. We have a load of elected officials that are spending like drunken sailors and that has to stop.

So, AC is schools is a great idea, after we get our fiscal house in order and only then.

As for your question about my weight. I am the poster example of correct weight for my height. 5' 10" male, 155 pounds. Been that way since I was 20, and that was a very long time ago. It only takes discipline to be the correct weight. Very easy to load up the tonnage, takes work to stay thin! It comes down to personal choice, how do you want to live your life.

"Baltimore County Public Schools has the fourth highest graduation rate among the nation’s 50 largest school districts, according to a report released today by Education Week."

Isn't it amazing kids can still graduate without all the schools being air conditioned? Simply amazing.

Put AC in the schools and make the kids go all year.

The reason why the school year is designed how it is was to allow for the children to work in the field because we were an agrarian society. For everyone who mentioned “students USED to walk to school barefoot in the snow and get whipped with a switch by their teachers, use typewriters and do without AC” well they also use to have a purpose for having the summers off. It was never for vacation it was for WORK. If you are “demanding” AC in all the schools then I would like to see a 12 month school year so that the hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars to retrofit the schools will be used year round.

For the individual who suggested “a tax specifically for the AC” send your kids to private school…

Every Baltimore County student goes to school year round? No, just those that underperformed during the year. Come on Denise, you know that!

Kids do go to summer school, however it must be in an air conditioned facility.

Thank you Lorie...it's not always the under performing kids either...there are courses and camps as well... if people are hell bent that kids should suffer, anything we write isn't going to change their mind. The pen can be mightier than the sword but not if the audience doesn't see the forest through the trees.

HELLO EVERYONE I AM 34 YEARS OLD AND I WENT TO BALTIMORE CITY AND BALTIMORE COUNTY SCHOOLS WHEN I WAS A KID IT WAS VERY HARSH ON EVERYONE EVEN THE TEACHERS EVEN WHEN THERE WAS NO HEAT IN THE SCHOOLS IT MAKES IT HARDER TO LEARN WITH IT BEING SO HOT OR COLD SO I AGREE WITH ALOT OF YOU PARENTS OUT THERE I MEAN MY MOM WOULD KEEP ME HOME WHEN IT WAS SO HOT SO IT WAS EITHER MISS SCHOOL OR GO TO SCHOOL AND NOT GET CREDIT FOR ANY WORK THAT I DIDNT DO THAT DAY FROM BEING SO HOT IN THERE I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT THE CITY AND COUNTY ARE CLOSING THE SCHOOLS EARLY WHEN IT REACHES THOSE HOT DAYS ..