How hot is too hot? A photo taken in an Edmonton public school portable at around 9 a.m. Thursday shows a thermostat measuring a temperature of 28.5 C.
By approximately 2 p.m., the thermostat read 29.5 C.
About 95 per cent of Edmonton Catholic schools and about 90 per cent of local public schools do not have air conditioning, district spokespeople told Global News.
READ MORE: Heat warning issued for parts of northern and central Alberta, including Edmonton
Some local teachers say when the heat sets in, it can be stifling, especially in portables or “pods” attached to the main buildings of some P3 schools.
One teacher, who Global News is not identifying, said: “We have windows open, lights out, shades down, electronic equipment being used sparingly but the heat is dangerous for staff and students.
“We have seen an increase in students complaining of headaches, lightheadedness, vomiting, nose bleeds, asthma attacks, etc.,” the teacher said.
“Learning conditions are far from optimal and are unsafe.”
The managing director of infrastructure for Edmonton Public Schools said when temperatures rise, his department fields more calls for help mitigating hot classrooms.
“It’s a problem we are working on through hot weather spells like this,” Chris Wright said.
Wright said the district works closely with individual schools and contractors to send teams out quickly and help with heat complaints.
“Drawing blinds, having fans and lots of water and items like that — a combination of school and district efforts are things we try to do in all of our situations.”
He said principals and teachers sometimes take other creative approaches, like bringing in their own air conditioner, and wouldn’t be discouraged from doing so.
“We wouldn’t have rules for and against efforts to make sure a temperature is regulated in the classroom,” Wright said. “We support as best we can centrally and we’re out as quick as we can when… a heat challenge is identified.”
READ MORE: Elementary school teachers union wants province to address excessive heat in schools
When asked at what temperature does a classroom become unsafe, Wright would not give an exact number. He said the EPSB would work with schools individually.
“I think we have to work to make sure we do everything we can to have the best learning environment,” he said. “Our maintenance folks are there as quickly as they can be. We’re never leaving schools to fend for themselves for longer than we can get out there.”
And if he received a complaint about a classroom that was 28.5 C?
“If we got a call and that was the temperature that was indicated, we’re going to be out there right away to see what we can do to make that a more comfortable temperature for kids.”
Alberta’s education minister stressed safety is always the government’s top priority.
“We have reached out to the school board to look for ways by which we can mitigate the problem,” David Eggen said. “Student safety and comfort is a precondition to good learning.”
READ MORE: Alberta Budget 2018: $393M earmarked for 20 new, upgraded schools, 3 in Edmonton
He also said the province has had several problems with P3 schools — built under the former PC government using a public-private partnership funding model.
“The PC government signed a contract with private companies — they actually own the schools, the private companies do. It’s a bad deal. It doesn’t give us the opportunity to make adjustments so certainly we’re not engaging in that kind of contracting anymore.
“We’ve been having a lot of problems with these schools so we’re simply not building them anymore,” Eggen said.
“We’re building schools that the former government did not build and we’re building them properly with the proper deal and safety standards.”
In 2014, the PCs announced they were scrapping the P3 model for 19 new schools and that the move would save $14 million.
READ MORE: Alberta government scraps P3 funding model for new schools
A spokeswoman for Edmonton Catholic Schools said their operations staff had not heard any complaints from principals during this latest heat wave.
However, Lori Nagy said portables can get hotter than other classrooms in schools.
“In the past, if a teacher notices it is too hot in the portable, students have been moved to another part of the school,” Nagi said in an email to Global News.
The Alberta Teachers Association said it hadn’t received any reports of this kind to its member services program as of Thursday afternoon.
We posted the photo on our Global Edmonton Facebook page and asked:
Do you have concerns about heat in your child’s classroom? Have your kids raised concerns about the temperature at school over the past few days?
The responses were many and fall into mainly two camps.
READ MORE: Heat days considered in Montreal
Linsey Beesley disagrees.
“How can you expect a child to learn, concentrate and not be grumpy in an environment like this?! This would not be tolerated in most other work places. Any adult would complain and be uncomfortable — it’s not fair to expect children to put up with this!”
Mike Smith said: “I substitute teach. Many classrooms — especially portables — well over 30 degrees. A few reached 35 C.”
READ MORE: Heat warning lifted for Edmonton, remains in place for other parts of northern and central Alberta
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