LI Students Feel The Heat During First Days Of School

With sweltering temperatures this week, many Long Island parents have expressed their anger at the lack of air conditioning at schools after their kids came home complaining of the heat in the classrooms during the first week back.

One Huntington parent told Patch that her daughter vomited twice on her first day of kindergarten.

"If it was from the heat (which I think was definitely a factor) it is because these little bodies cannot take the stress of being in AC all night in the homes and then going into extreme heat on the bus and in the classroom," the parent wrote in a message to Patch.

She also said that some other local parents were planning to pick up their kindergarteners from school Thursday to avoid the heat of the bus.

Another parent in the Commack School District said in a post on Facebook that his daughter was crying as she got off the bus after her first day of school on Wednesday.

"She proceeds to tell me how hot and unbearable the classroom was and the bus was even worse," the girl's father wrote. "She was drenched and said the whole day was like that."

A heat advisory was in effect Wednesday and Thursday.

The heat index – how hot it feels with the humidity factored in – hit 93 degrees at Long Island MacArthur Airport Wednesday and 99 degrees Thursday.

Several Long Island teachers posted photos on social media showing the temperature in their classrooms at above 90 degrees.

Patch asked on all our Facebook pages if schools should be required to have air conditioning in every classroom.

Most readers were in agreement that schools should have air conditioning. Read some of their comments below:

• If they want to be open in hot weather, they should have air conditioning!! We pay a fortune in taxes, our children should be comfortable in school, even during a heat wave.
• I am originally from long island..went to schools in north babylon..it was hot in summer...been living in indiana the past 20 years...my kids went to schools here...the schools are air conditions and have pools in the schools...so yes i feel there should be a/c...the kids will get more done being cool rather than sweaty and hot
• For goodness sakes there’s heat when it’s cold. Should we just send the kids to school with no heat?! Everyone deserves right to be in a comfortable environment
• The heat is absolutely oppressive in some of the school buildings. My son goes to a Lindy school and I can not believe how hot the rooms are. As Lindy alumni, I dont remember school being so hot at all. Now, I can't spend more than a few minutes in the building without being extremely uncomfortable. As a volunteer, I am there throughout the year and the heat goes well beyond September. Excessive heat is not only uncomfortable, it can cause health issues, it is a distraction from learning and is a huge hindrence in the good work we expect from our children and our teachers.

Meanwhile, some readers were in disagreement, stating that air conditioning isn't necessary in the classrooms. Read what some had to say in opposition of air conditioners:

• We never had it. It was hot. We survived. Maybe they could put fans in. AC- would cost a fortune. For 2 weeks - really? If I came home crying because I was hot in class, my dad would give me something to cry about.
  
• I think while the hotter days still linger with us during September, the schools should take the time to get these kids to interact with one another by giving them a day of recess together in hopes to get them to know one another more. The amount it would cost to invest in AC to only run it for a few weeks would be pointless. Maybe fresh off vacation and water games like they do during field day would be cool
  
• There’s only a handful of hot days and the money is better spent on technology for the kids. Funds are so limited now days that schools have to decide what’s more important. Do they notice it or do the parents? My kids don’t have ac in school but they don’t complain nearly as much as we do!
  
• I agree it’s hot but we all have to deal with it for a few weeks.. kids coming home crying? Maybe the kids should have been outside playing all summer instead of in the air conditioned house playing on their games phones tablets etc.. we would run around in this heat as kids. Does it suck sitting in a hot room yes but it’s only a short period of time.. what about taking tests in a hot gym in June.. no one complained then?
  
• That’s ridiculous. It’s not even that hot there! We never had ac. We survived. Air conditioning is a luxury, not a necessity.

In New Jersey, 28 schools across the state dismissed students early on the Thursday due to the lack of air conditioning in the classrooms, according to an ABC7 report.

Last year, New York City officials announced that the city received $28.75 million in funding to provide every classroom in NYC with air conditioning by 2022.

What do you think? Should classrooms have air conditioning? Let us know what you think.