Some Redmond students say heat unbearable in classrooms

Temperatures have been heating up the last week , and so are Redmond students. Many Redmond schools do not have air conditioning in the classrooms, and with the record breaking temperatures, some parents are complaining the hot classrooms are becoming unbearable for students.

NewsChannel 21 has received numerous calls and e-mails from upset parents of Sage Elementary School students, saying the classrooms are way too hot. Some parents said they’ve even had to pull their kids out of school as temperatures have reached close to 90 degrees in the classrooms.

“She says it’s just so hot, you can’t even work, you can’t even concentrate,” Mike Lindsey, the parent of a third-grader at Sage Elementary, said Wednesday. His daughter’s classroom is on the second floor.

“My daughter has complained tremendously when she comes home. Of course, as kids go, it was 100 million degrees,” Lindsey said.

While everyone agrees these conditions are unfavorable, Redmond Schools Superintendent Mike McIntosh said they are doing what they can to keep students comfortable.

“To accommodate them by letting our kids go home with their homework, drink extra water, make extra trips to the drinking fountain,” McIntosh said.

Parents say they’ve been bringing in Popsicles, ice-cold water and fans to help beat the heat.

“I would think this is something the district would do, to bring in portable air conditioners,” Lindsey said.

According to McIntosh, none of the Redmond schools have air conditioning in the classroom.

While the classrooms don’t have A/C, the office, computer lab and library do.

“It’s not a favoritism policy as much as it’s a necessity for electronics that require cooling,” McIntosh said.

NewsChannel 21 asked to go inside a classroom to test the heat, but the request was denied.

Meanwhile, parents remain frustrated.

“What frustrates me is, from my understanding, the school came in at $6 million under budget,” Lindsey said.

School officials argued it’s not worth taxpayers dollars to put in an A/C unit that will only be used a few days a year.

Fortunately for Sage students, school is out next week.