BOE Discusses How Community Involvement Could Assist the District

Discussion regarding air conditioning in the schools and what role parents and the community can play in assisting the Board of Education with this took place Thursday as a parent asked if the board would be able to supply funding for the installation of air conditioners if parents were to raise funds to supply them.

Kristen Schaeffer, a Euclid School parent, stated that she and several parents want to donate air conditioning to the school. She stated that there are at least 14 classrooms at Euclid that do not have air conditioning and the goal would be to create enough spaces in the school with air conditioning to accommodate the students on difficult hot days.

She also noted that the library of the school is air conditioned but the art room directly upstairs is not. She suggested that if this room were to be air conditioned it could be a good place to hold class for many students during difficult hot days.

Dr. Mark Porto, superintendent of schools, said he is an advocate for creating some kind of parent school community effort. He and some of the other board members stated that parents have donated air conditioning units in the past and also parents who were licensed electricians by trade donated their services to put them in.

He suggested to Schaeffer that she speak with Dina Messery, business administrator who can provide more details.

Connie Doheny, board member, reminded parents that once an item is donated to the school district it is fully owned by the board and they would need to decide where they are used. Richard Giarranta, another board member, stated that window units can not be installed however they can use stand-up units.

Board member Mark Nazarro stated that overall the board should look into community involvement in this way as he is aware that many parents want to offer services and they should look into creating a district-wide effort.