Commentary: Overheated and frustrated in Newport-Mesa schools

During the past week, consecutive high temperatures of 95, 106, 99 and 90 degrees were recorded in our classrooms.

While everyone agrees that triple-digit temperatures are extremely rare in our communities, getting into the 90s seems to happen regularly. Heat waves melted us in August, September, October, November, January, February and June during recent years.

It feels like they are becoming more frequent and extreme.

Hot classrooms are not quality learning environments, and not safe for students or employees.

Currently 15 of 32 Newport-Mesa schools do not have adequate air conditioning. This means that about 45% of our students spent last week in classrooms with temperatures hot enough to warrant “extreme caution” or “danger” levels from National Weather Service heat index charts.

Our district is working on a plan to install air conditioning for every classroom. NMUSD installed air conditioning in seven schools during 2015 and 2016, and has seven more scheduled for next summer.

This leaves nine schools without adequate cooling: Back Bay, Costa Mesa, Harbor View, Kaiser, Mariners, Newport El, Newport Harbor, Newport Heights and Whittier. One-third of students will still be in the oven during those hot weeks of 2018 and beyond. It might be 2023 before all our students are free from sweltering heat while trying to learn math.

Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, Local 1794, filed a formal complaint, a grievance, in September 2015 about this issue. To date, the complaint has not been resolved, despite the union’s efforts to engage in a meaningful conversation every month that has gone by.

We recognize that installation of air conditioning is expensive and time-consuming, therefore we sought zero-cost solutions to provide relief.

The federation asked that a written plan be developed for each school and published. We asked the district to provide guidance to school plans so there would be uniformity.

Ideas such as shifting core instruction to the early part of the school day, or using assembly schedules in creative ways to ease the strain of heat at 2 p.m., were presented. There should be a method to rotate students and employees through rooms with air conditioning that does not rely on friendships or favors. The federation doesn’t have feedback on these ideas, after presenting them two years ago.

A more appropriate action would be to follow the models of San Diego or Long Beach. They have clear board policies that prescribe when to dismiss school early based on weather forecasts. Another option would be to accelerate the timetable for installation of air conditioners.

The weather forecast is for moderate temperatures in November. The federation wants to have a plan in place before the next heat wave strikes.

If you are overheated and frustrated, I recommend you take a democratic approach. Let your school board trustees know your thoughts. Ask them to form a districtwide plan providing some measure of relief to our students.

Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers is here to help create a safer learning environment for your children and teachers. We are here to support every student, every day.

BRITT DOWDY is president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers.