Baltimore Heat Closes Schools With No Air Conditioning As Temperatures Soar To Mid-90s

Baltimore heat closes schools for the second day in a row due to the lack of working air conditioning.

Temperatures soared into the mid-90s this week in Baltimore, forcing the public school officials in Baltimore city and county to close schools two hours early and postpone any and all sporting events and activities.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the combination of high heat, humidity, and no working air conditioners made it nearly impossible for the schools to remain in session. The National Weather Service reported the heat index, which factors in heat and humidity, had already reached the 90s by early Wednesday morning.

The topic of air conditioning in Baltimore’s schools has been a topic of concern for many years, angering parents, teachers, and students. On Tuesday evening, the Baltimore County Council met with a group of parents who were outraged that their children did not have air conditioning in their schools. Currently, about 30 percent of the schools, or 52 schools, do not have working air conditioning units.

Shekeyda Coates is the mom of an asthmatic student who attends Pleasant Plains Elementary in Towson. She said she was forced to purchase her child a portable fan after finding out she was struggling to breathe due to the scorching heat, according to CBS Baltimore.

“I bought her a battery-operated fan so that she would be cool because she has asthma,” Coates said.

“The first week of school, his teacher told him to bring water because it was so hot in the classroom and they would dehydrate. Even the teachers were drenched in sweat,” said another mother, Sanora Dutton.

The students also spoke their minds on the issue, being brutally honest and explaining that they are having trouble learning when it is so hot in their classrooms.

“I was sweating like crap in there,” said kindergartener Mason Weatherley. “It was really bad.”

“We couldn’t really learn anything that well,” said fourth grader Selea Coates.

“It was really, really hot. It felt like the summer was in there,” said another student.

County officials say they are in the midst of a renovation schedule to install air conditioning in 99 percent of schools over the next six years. The city has a $1 billion budget and a 10-year plan to replace or renovate two dozen city schools.

Thursday’s temperatures appeared to be a bit more moderate with the National Weather Service forecasting temperatures in the upper 70s.

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