Milwaukee schools superintendent proposes $12M for air conditioning
MPS classrooms lack air conditioning, superintendent calls for change
On hot days most MPS classrooms don't have air conditioning. Now, the superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools is calling for that to change.
MILWAUKEE - Most Milwaukee Public Schools classrooms do not have air conditioning. Now, Milwaukee Public Schools’ superintendent is calling for that to change.
Lack of air conditioning
What we know:
About 74% of Milwaukee Public Schools classrooms do not have air conditioning, per district data from 2023 found in MPS’s long range facilities plan. It gets worse if you zoom in on elementary classrooms: 85% of those rooms do not have air conditioning.
Last week, extreme heat led Milwaukee Public Schools to cancel class on the second day of school. MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius says she felt it on her visits during the first day of school.
"It was miserable and very challenging for our staff and students to be in those hot buildings, it was just really, really hot," she told FOX6 in an interview. "Our buildings, our brick buildings, they hold and insulate the heat within them, and so it's just very challenging to have learning conditions in which you're sweating and uncomfortable. So, that makes it quite difficult."
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She says it is urgent to get air conditioning into every single classroom.
The superintendent told FOX6 News her budget proposal this fall will include money to make it happen.
$12 million estimate
What we know:
"We have not very much left in our construction budget. Obviously, everybody knows the deferred maintenance in the district is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, which is extremely challenging and constraining to the budget to be able to do other infrastructure needs within the district. And we had to prioritize lead, and we spent nearly $50 million on the lead abatement. So that makes it extremely difficult to do," Cassellius said. "So, you know: we're going to tighten our belt and try to get it done and bring it to the board. And still, we have a $50 million deficit that we are trying to resolve this year. There's a number of challenges facing the district that we will try to resolve to prioritize the comfortability within our schools so that children can learn."
She said the rough estimate for AC in every classroom is roughly $12 million. She also calls for adding air quality sensors, which will track temperature, carbon dioxide and particles in the air.
The estimates for air conditioning used to be more than nine times higher. In 2021, a proposal to add air conditioning to just 28 schools that then started early was estimated to be $140 million.
The district has had major budget problems. It is also navigating a $50 million deficit. But, what about the district’s federal pandemic money? It received nearly $800 million.
"I absolutely do wish that I had COVID money right now. That would make it a lot easier to make the decision and to get started. I wasn't here during the time. I'm not going to criticize on the priorities that the former administration and boards decided to do with the ESSER [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund] relief money," said Cassellius.
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City Forward Collective has been critical of MPS on finances.
"Unfortunately, the MPS Board delayed hard decisions instead of making them. Every Milwaukee student and teacher deserves a school building that's safe. No one should have to deal with heat stroke and canceled classes on the second day of school. In 2021, the Board had a proposal to add air conditioning to nearly 30 buildings and voted it down. Instead, the former administration chose to spend millions on outdoor playgrounds. Today, MPS carries a $430 million maintenance backlog, even after more than $700M in one-time federal funding that was intended for this purpose," the organization stated.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jason Calvi and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Milwaukee Public Schools documents, Superintendent Brenda Cassellius and City Forward Collective.