“Sweltering classrooms are a perennial problem in Baltimore, which has some of the state’s oldest school buildings and a maintenance backlog of roughly $3 billion.Wednesday’s high was 91 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, and in buildings without air conditioning such heat can feel stifling.
Teachers and students say its hard to learn when you’re sweaty and tired. At the same time, families lament that kids in some neighborhoods miss out on precious class time when schools dismiss them early.
“Today’s announcement about Baltimore City Public Schools without air conditioning closing early due to the extreme heat does not come as a surprise,” Baltimore Teachers Union President Diamonté Brown said in a statement. “Our scholars continue to suffer academically because their instructional time is interrupted due to these extreme conditions.”‘