Classrooms at Gage Elementary School in San Carlos reached 89 degrees over the past two days, according to a parent who said a broken air conditioning unit had left students sitting in the heat for hours with no cooler place to go. San Diego Unified told NBC 7 that the classroom currently had working air conditioning and that a technician would conduct a status check. The building sits within San Diego Unified School District, where a regional heat wave has been pushing outdoor temperatures into the triple digits, hitting 106 degrees in some areas.
Taylor Hammond, whose 6-year-old son attends Gage Elementary, told NBC 7 San Diego that the heat is affecting his child, who comes home with heat rashes and has complained about how hot his classroom gets. Hammond said his son has not been moved to an alternative space, even as thermometers in the building recorded classroom temperatures climbing into the 90s. He has reached out to the school principal, the school district, and the county board of education trying to get the issue addressed, and the district told him it would look into the situation.
Teacher Turns to Spray Bottles and Parent Fans
The strain on Gage Elementary has fallen partly on the classroom teacher, who has been struggling with the reported conditions since the start of the school year and has asked families for help. Per the same NBC 7 San Diego report, the teacher has been bringing spray bottles from home to spray children down in the classroom and has asked parents to bring in fans and to pressure administrators about the reported problem.
San Diego Unified’s HVAC team has been working with Gage Elementary on the repair, and the district said a technician would conduct a status check on Friday, per a district statement carried by the station. The district acknowledged that air-conditioning malfunctions can occur when units work overtime during extreme heat, and said its classrooms do have air conditioning installed, with the Gage Elementary classroom currently listed as having working AC per that same statement. The district also said it has made alternative spaces with working air conditioners available, including other classrooms and the library, intended to keep students and educators safe during the heat wave.
A Pattern That Predates This Heat Wave
The frustration in San Carlos echoes a broader pattern across San Diego Unified. The district spent $460 million between 2013 and 2019 to install HVAC systems across schools, according to CalMatters, helping bring air conditioning to schools across the district. San Diego voters have backed that push with four local school construction bonds totaling $11.5 billion since 2008, with cooling upgrades repeatedly pitched as a core promise to taxpayers, as Voice of San Diego has reported…