{"id":471143,"date":"2026-09-21T19:58:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T19:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/471143\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T19:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T19:58:13","slug":"oakland-parents-launch-fundraiser-to-cool-off-hot-classrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/471143\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland parents launch fundraiser to cool off hot classrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

A group of parents has taken on Oakland\u2019s sweltering classrooms, launching an ambitious effort to buy and install hundreds of portable air conditioning units.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Partnering with the Oakland Public Education Fund, Cool the Schools<\/a> launched a fundraiser last week with the goal of raising $100,000, which would cover the costs of a portable window unit for 200 classrooms. That\u2019s about 10% of the 2,100 classrooms that lack cooling systems<\/a> across Oakland Unified School District. A volunteer from the group would also install the unit and train the classroom teacher how to use and maintain it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As OUSD outfits classrooms with less expensive heat mitigation measures<\/a>, such as new window blinds, the Cool the Schools coalition of parents are looking for ways to provide immediate relief. Over the summer, they installed dozens of air conditioning units in classrooms across the district.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first $5,000 in donations will be matched by an anonymous donor, and the group hopes to meet that preliminary goal by the end of the month. Teachers can apply for a unit on the CoolTheSchools.org<\/a> website. The funds will be distributed to Title I schools based on how hot they are \u2014 first prioritizing classrooms that reach temperatures above 85 degrees, then those that reach temperatures above 80 degrees \u2014 and schools where more than 60% of students come from low-income families, are English learners or are foster youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to get students safer today while the district is doing what it\u2019s doing with the heat mitigation plan,\u201d said Rachael Kirk-Cortez, a parent at Sequoia Elementary School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last spring, Kirk-Cortez and other parents at Sequoia Elementary called on the district to take action after a March heat wave saw classroom temperatures there rise to more than 82 degrees. After parents installed thermometers and then DIY solutions of window films and air conditioning units, they saw temperatures drop by more than five degrees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Research<\/a> has shown that hotter temperatures can make it harder for students to focus and learn, and that the ideal temperature for concentration is 72 degrees.<\/p>\n

In April, the district presented a plan<\/a> to address the issue, which includes temperature sensors in every classroom, along with select schools receiving UV window films and portable air conditioning units. It also includes infrastructure improvements such as reflective roof coating that can lower surface temperatures and additional shade structures. District staff and contractors worked over the summer to start that work, which will continue throughout the fall and spring, facilities staff said at a Thursday meeting of the school board\u2019s facilities committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe compared a south-facing classroom at East Oakland Pride to an adjacent teachers\u2019 lounge, and we\u2019ve been able to see an average temperature reduction of about three to four degrees,\u201d Olivia Boitano, an employee with the firm Brailsford and Dunlavey working with the district\u2019s facilities team, said of the window films\u2019 effectiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the root of the issue is the district\u2019s aging infrastructure<\/a>, which largely lacks central cooling systems. While cooling rooftops and window films can help now, renovating the district\u2019s buildings, many of which are more than 50 years old, will take years and many millions of dollars, said Preston Thomas, OUSD\u2019s director of systems and services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s 97 degrees out, like it was last Wednesday, passive measures are going to be impossible to address that level of heat,\u201d Thomas said during Thursday\u2019s meeting. \u201cThat is going to take at least a decade for us to address that issue, because if you\u2019re thinking $6 million to $10 million per site to get active cooling in each of those sites, it is going to require funding from the next bond.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Tripping circuit breakers across the district\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"OUSD parent Matthew Kirk-Cortez, left, shows Manzanita Community School teacher Maria Flores how to remove and clean the filter in her donated window unit. Credit: Ashley McBride\/The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

As another heat wave brought stifling temperatures to classrooms across OUSD this month, parent volunteers installed a window air conditioning unit in Maria Flores\u2019 transitional kindergarten classroom at Manzanita Community School. Flores, who grew up in Fremont, said she remembered classrooms having air conditioning when she was a child, and she was shocked that most OUSD classrooms didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of the 4-year-olds in her class may not be able to say it, but they notice something\u2019s off when it\u2019s hot inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of them are like, \u2018It\u2019s too cold,\u2019 and I tell them, \u2018It\u2019s too hot,\u201d Flores told The Oaklandside. \u201cThey know something\u2019s off with the temperatures in here, but they still don\u2019t know how to explain it. A lot of them are extra tired and are falling asleep during rest time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional pressure on schools\u2019 electrical systems, whether because of fans or window units, could also trigger new problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the hottest day [of the heat wave], people were tripping circuit breakers across the district, so our electricians were actually having to go out to just turn the power back on at schools, rather than being able to address some of the work that we\u2019re talking about that\u2019s moving forward,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cAnd that maintenance can take a while. So there is a capacity challenge that we have in terms of who can go out and do that work.\u201d<\/p>\n

OUSD has committed about $4.5 million so far from its Measure Y facilities bond to heat mitigation, and district officials plan to bring forward a long-term heat mitigation plan next year, which could rely on future bond funding.<\/p>\n

Kirk-Cortez, the Sequoia parent, acknowledges that compared with a functioning HVAC system, the window units are a temporary solution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal shouldn\u2019t be to maintain these for a decade,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is an emergency method to keep kids safe while we continue to work with bond funding and future bonds to create a real maintainable system.\u201d<\/p>\n

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