Parent Jennifer Rea considers the lack of air conditioning in her child’s Crescent Elementary School classroom during this week’s heat wave “unsafe for everyone,” she said.
“By the end of the day they all look like they are about to pass out,” she said. “Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are what they are being put at risk for. Unacceptable.”
Parents have been complaining about poor air conditioning at Crescent Elementary, located in Anaheim Hills, since the start of the school year on Aug. 16, and concerns have only risen with the temperature.
The school’s A/C system has struggled due to age in the ongoing heat wave, Orange Unified School District spokesperson Hana Brake said, and has been shutting off in the afternoons.
A heat advisory has been in place for most of Southern California; Anaheim Hills has been experiencing temperatures as high as 96 degrees.
“My daughters love school but they have complained about this heat. They are beyond exhausted, and even at dinner their appetites are not normal,” Rea said. “I am sure all of the teachers and the kids are experiencing some sort of heat exhaustion.”
To keep students healthy and cool, Brake said “the district is securing temporary air conditioning units that can be placed in a classroom should they be needed. In addition, our Nutrition Services Department is providing cold water for any student or staff member who would like some, and plans are in place to relocate classes should temperatures become uncomfortably warm.”
Crescent Principal Dustin Saxton said in a statement “our students are now, and will always be, our top priority and I assure that we will continue to do everything we can to make sure the learning environment is one in which the students can excel.”
Technicians from both OUSD and an outside contractor have been onsite since Monday morning, he said, working on the units and monitoring the classroom temperatures.
The district’s director of maintenance…
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