One legislator says it’s time for the state to think about forcing schools to install air conditioning in all K-through-12 classrooms. State Senator Jack Kibbie, a Democrat from Emmetsburg, says having air conditioning would let schools meet year-round, or meet in August and June without the need for an early release because of the heat. Kibbie says nearly 40 years ago, the Iowa Legislature passed a law requiring Community College buildings be air conditioned, but he says lawmakers have never addressed the air conditioning issue in K-through-12 schools. Kibbie says Iowa’s climate is getting warmer, and that’s one reason the legislature needs to be considering the matter. Solon Superintendent Bradley Manard says his high school is air conditioned, but the middle school isn’t.Manard says this past week, it was in the upper 80s in those unairconditioned classrooms because there’s no significant air flow and the brick buildings don’t cool down quickly. A survey by the Iowa Association of School Boards finds few schools are completely air conditioned. One-hundred-21 districts reported having less than 25 percent of their classrooms air conditioned. Seventy-four districts plan to put A-C in more classrooms. According to the survey, at least 17 school districts in Iowa have no air conditioning in any building in the district. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Not all districts responded to the survey, so the numbers aren’t statewide.)
