Are Kids Safe in Sweltering Schools?

May 16--Paramedics responded to Kaiser Elementary School on Tuesday after a fourth-grader collapsed in the heat during morning recess.

The student returned to the Costa Mesa school the next day and didn't show any symptoms of heat stroke, said Principal Deborah Granger.

"She got dizzy and her knees buckled," Granger said. "We were informed that she has fainted before, not at school, but she has a very strong sensitivity to heat."

With temperatures reaching nearly 100 degrees along the coast, the unseasonably hot weather this week is taking its toll on Newport-Mesa students and staff.

At Kaiser, teachers purchased blocks of ice to place in front of fans to cool their classrooms, Granger said.

Classes are also taking cool-down breaks in the school's air conditioned rooms.

The majority of Newport-Mesa's schools are not completely air conditioned because they were built before it was widely used. However, many schools have air conditioned spaces, said Facilities Director Tim Marsh.

Andersen, Eastbluff, Newport Coast and Victoria elementary schools are the only completely air-conditioned schools in the district.

Installing air conditioning at each of the schools would cost Newport-Mesa about $42.5 million. The district would also incur additional energy and maintenance bills annually for the units, Marsh said.

The district looked into outfitting each of the schools with air conditioning about a year ago, but the process hasn't been a top priority for officials, partially because of the high cost, he said.

"Clearly, it's not a top priority because that's not where money has been allocated," he said.

To combat the climbing temperatures, the district distributed fans to each school, but some parents still question their children's safety in classrooms that can reach temperatures of more than 90 degrees.

Paul Hillson experienced the heat first hand when he gave out Popsicles in his children's classrooms this week.

"My sixth-grader didn't want to go to school today because it's so hot in the classroom," he said.

Hillson saw another student collapse during soccer practice Tuesday afternoon. The third-grader didn't lose consciousness, but fell to the ground.

That time, paramedics weren't called, but the boy's parents immediately came to pick him up, Hillson said.

The next day, Hillson pulled his kids from school in the morning and took them to the beach to escape the scorching temperatures.

He believes the schools should close when temperatures soar into the 90s.

"There's no policy in place for when it gets this hot," he said. "Missing school for one day is not going to make or break anything. It's about the safety of the students."

Copyright 2014 - Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa, Calif.