Oregon Schools Investigate AC Options As Soaring Heat Cancels Classes
As temperatures continued to climb throughout most of Oregon, an excessive heat warning was issued. A lack of air conditioning units prompted several school districts, including in the Portland metropolitan area, to release students early or cancel classes.
School officials and environmental groups have linked the absence of AC systems to a lack of funding for school modernization, suggesting that investment is required to prevent future heat-related school problems and better protect students as the climate crisis escalates.
Climate Change Affecting Schools
Oregon Environmental Council executive director Jana Gastellum said to help solve multiple issues at the same time, climate change must be at the forefront in all state planning and strategies.
Now, temperatures are increasing around the globe due to The burning of fossil fuels that cause extreme weather has increased temperatures globally. Places like Portland are experiencing sweltering heat that traps high temperatures inside the decades-old school buildings. Some classrooms get above 90 degrees.
A Harvard Kennedy School study. Indicates that heat can affect students’ cognitive development which may lead to diminished learning. Other research confirms that extreme weather events already affect the mental health of young Oregonians.
Oregon Schools Affected By Heatwave
Portland Public Schools without air conditioning sent students home from school three hours early on Friday, and North Clackamas schools similarly canceled classes entirely.
Because of the normally mild Pacific Northwest temperatures during the school year, older schools in the area lack air conditioning units.
Dan Jung, PPS’s Chief Operating Officer, said most PPS school buildings are on average around 80 years old and many need upgrades. A lack of funding has delayed upgrade plans and Jung confirmed that it’s very expensive to add mechanical cooling to all buildings. There are also a lot of requirements.
Lack Of Funding For AC Units In Schools
The financial and logistical barriers keeping temperatures inside schools low during heat waves are not unique to Portland. Gastellum indicates that lowering temperatures in schools during heatwaves faces financial and logistical barriers across Oregon.
There is currently no statewide strategy to fund energy-efficient AC upgrades. Gastellum said, “That means a lot of schools and parents, family, and teachers are left scrambling when we have these extreme heat or wildfire smoke events.”
In Oregon’s largest school district, just 15 of the 81 schools in have AC units or an HVAC system capable of providing air conditioning, ventilation, and heating.
Most PPS schools with HVAC systems have completed rebuilds with funding from voter-approved bonds, such as the $1.2 billion bond passed in 2020. $75 million of that was set aside to install HVAC systems in schools with mechanical systems in critical condition.
Bonds can source money for upgrades like adding HVAC systems or solar panels that generate renewable energy and initiatives such as the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF could also help Portland-based school districts to upgrade their buildings with energy-efficient retrofits.
$50 Million was awarded to 7 school districts in Portland earlier this year to fund projects including energy-efficient retrofits for older buildings with HVAC systems included in the plans.
PPS alone could see nearly $20 million in PCEF funding but to retrofit a school could take up to five years.
With a limited pool of matching funds for districts that pass bonds, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) allocated no district with more than $8 million in the most recent cycle. As the ODE programs survey the level of need, it’s also working on ways to bring in more private funds to finance HVAC and energy efficiency projects.
More funding will needed to address climate change and extreme weather events.