Cold Schools In Baltimore And Around U.S. Compared To 3rd World

BALTIMORE, MD — Leaders in Baltimore City Public Schools were faced with a room full of residents holding signs and wearing t-shirts to show they were angry about the lack of heat, among other problems, plaguing city schools. Overflow rooms were packed with those who wanted to share their grievances Tuesday night at the regularly scheduled school board meeting.

So many people wanted to testify that Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises announced a town hall on Jan. 22 where people can voice their concerns regarding building maintenance, and a website will be established for the purpose as well. Temperatures have been below freezing the past week in Maryland due to an Arctic blast, and many schools have been without heat in the city.

"We started with problems at 60 schools, resolved many of them, and had new issues develop in other buildings," Santelises said in a letter to parents on Sunday, when she said issues remained at 20 buildings.

Baltimore isn't the only school system facing such challenges. In Philadelphia, building engineers have been working since the day after Christmas to restore heat in a district where $4.5 billion in maintenance has been deferred.

The oldest heating system: Installed at one elementary school in 1900, according to NPR affiliate WHYY. The station did an analysis that showed 60 schools in Philly needed heating systems replaced. In Hamilton County, Florida, classes were called off last week because of heating issues after the region got a rare snowfall. And several schools in the Dayton, Ohio, area had to cancel last week after the extreme cold froze pipes, and knocked heating systems and school buses out of service.

In Maryland, the governor authorized emergency funding on Monday to repair the heating systems in Baltimore schools. For many residents who testified before Baltimore's school system leadership, that was not enough. School officials must create clear policies, they said, to protect children.

"We need a temperature threshold," teacher Cristina Duncan Evans told the board.

After an outcry during the warmer months over the lack of air conditioning, the school system developed a policy calling for the closure of city schools if the temperature at the Inner Harbor reaches 90 degrees by 11 a.m. A similar policy was needed for cold temperatures, Evans said.

The plight of students in frigid schools in Baltimore City drew national attention after former NFL player-turned-teacher Aaron Maybin posted an Instagram video of his pupils bundled up in a classroom he said was 40 degrees. CNN, CBS and USA Today were among the national outlets taking note.

It is so cold that children "can barely hold a number 2 pencil in their hand," Tamika Snead, who has five children, said at the school board meeting Tuesday night.

"Our children are trying to learn in a third-world environment," said Snead. She described water fountains that were out of service because they were "filled with lead" and bathrooms that are not functional in school buildings.

"Baltimore City kids matter too," Snead said. "All kids matter. It’s our duty to give these kids a fighting chance."

School officials said that BGE, the mayor and other city officials have been working to resolve system-wide heating problems. Utility issues led to the closure of several schools early last week, followed by district wide closures Thursday and Friday. Several schools were also closed Monday and Tuesday. One remained out of commission Wednesday: Calverton Elementary/Middle School.

A GoFundMe campaign was set up to purchase space heaters and outerwear for students in Baltimore City. The campaign's goal was to raise $20,000, enough to purchase 600 space heaters. Since it began Jan. 3, the campaign has raised more than $78,000.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced an emergency $2.5 million in funding on Monday for repairs to heating systems in Baltimore City schools. The money will come from the state's Catastrophic Event Account and will be overseen by the Maryland Department of General Services for the purposes of accountability.

"Let me be clear: this funding is for our kids," Hogan said in a statement. "Baltimore City children should never have to suffer because of the adults who have repeatedly failed them."

Accountability issues have been plaguing school systems across the state and have not just been limited to Baltimore, the governor said, citing problems in Baltimore, Howard and Prince George's counties this year.

Hogan has proposed creating an Office of the State Education Investigator General within the Maryland State Department of Education to investigate complaints about conduct related to grading, facilities, budgets, graduation requirements, procurement and education assets. The bill is called the Accountability in Education Act of 2018.

“This lack of accountability in education systems all across our state cannot and will not be tolerated by our administration," Hogan said in a statement this week. “Not addressing it would mean that we are failing Maryland taxpayers, and–more importantly–failing our children who need help the most.”

Baltimore City Public Schools is holding a town hall meeting to discuss issues with city school buildings from 6 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 22 at Dunbar High School, 1400 Orleans Street.

Image courtesy of GoFundMe.