Central Air at the HS

   Ian Bowen

Summer is just around the corner, and for high school students like those here at Nyack, that means just another handful of weeks before we can enjoy two months of a long-awaited break.

   It also means hot classrooms. 

   As the calendar flips towards June, the rising temperatures can have a harmful effect on student’s productivity in their classrooms. This raises the idea of implementing air conditioning, an expensive but effective solution to the sauna-like conditions of many classrooms.

   After conducting a survey of 51 Nyack High School students of all grades, it is clear that heat in classrooms is an issue for many. However, the negative effects of the heat appear to have a larger impact on the productivity or focus of the students, rather than being a safety issue. When asked to rate the prevalence of the following phrases, students responded in the following manner:

   When ranking the issues proposed to Nyack Public Schools Capital Improvements, students consistently ranked “Installation of Central AC at NHS” (29-1st, 15-2nd) as their most important issue, normally followed by the “Construction of a New Parking Lot at NHS” (18-2nd, 15-1st) and then “Renewable Energy Lighting at NHS” and “Masonry and Roofing Repairs at NHS” as third and fourth. 

   Now that we know air conditioning is a common wish for students, let’s examine the current situation. As of now, AC is limited to window units installed in a handful of classrooms around the school. Principal Nicole Saieva says these units are provided “based on students' and teachers' documented and approved needs.” English teacher Ms. Maslanek had to submit medical documentation from a pulmonologist in order to prove she needed an air conditioning unit. The initial letter was not specific enough and she had to go back to her pulmonologist to indicate her condition so that she could be approved. She said she “resented having to provide additional documentation to the district when [she has] had episodes and left this building to go to the emergency room” because of her condition.

    Sweltering temperatures in classrooms has been a growing concern across the state, with new action from lawmakers just this year to keep students and teachers cool. While there has been a minimum safe temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit for classrooms set by the “Property Maintenance Code for New York State,” for many years, a maximum temperature has not existed until now. On December 14 of last year, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill requiring schools to maintain classroom temperatures below 88 degrees Fahrenheit, and if these temperatures are exceeded students and staff must be removed from these spaces. Teachers unions across the state have been fighting for this legislation and see it as a major win for teachers and students alike.

   Here at Nyack, we are in the midst of a several year initiative that the district refers to as the “District-Wide AC Project.” The plans that have been put in place over the last few years include installation of Air Conditioning in the Global Learning Commons (GLC) of the elementary schools, along with the cafeterias and the cafeteria of the middle school. The project was approved by voters in May 2022, but due to delays with Orange and Rockland Utilities, the project was not able to be bid until December 2023. The work on the GLCs and cafeterias was scheduled for Summer 2024 and Summer 2025 and seems to have gone over-budget due to the installation of three new transformers at the elementary schools (Nyack Public Schools: Capital Projects: 2024-25 Proposed Projects: Safety & Structure). In correspondence with Principal Saieva and myself, our Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, Mr. Enrique Catalan shared that central air conditioning has been discussed for the HS, but it will not happen next year, but he is hopeful that it will be installed in the future.

   A costly ordeal, but one that would be greatly appreciated by students and teachers. Central air conditioning at Nyack High School is a worthy goal for our district. While it certainly won’t be around for me to experience it, I hope the administration is willing to act for a cause that is so widely supported by our community.