As students return to school in southwest Colorado, districts are preparing for late-summer heat both inside classrooms and on outdoor athletic fields.
Montezuma-Cortez School District is managing aging HVAC systems at Mesa, Kemper and Lewis-Arriola elementary schools while using portable cooling equipment and other temporary measures.
Maintenance Director Ray Lopez said Kemper Elementary presents the greatest challenge because its older electrical system cannot support portable air conditioners in every classroom.
“The most challenging right now is going to be Kemper,” Lopez said.
He said parts of the building have two classrooms sharing a 20-amp electrical circuit. Running portable air conditioners in both classrooms, along with other classroom equipment, can trip the breaker.
The district has purchased portable air-conditioning units and plans to use them in rooms where the electrical system can support the additional load. Other measures include opening windows during cooler morning hours, increasing air circulation and moving students to cooler spaces when available.
Lewis-Arriola Elementary has also experienced cooling problems. Lopez said a unit serving several south-facing classrooms was repaired before the start of school but cautioned that the district could not guarantee it would continue operating without problems.
District adopts temperature thresholds
When KSJD interviewed Montezuma-Cortez officials before the beginning of the school year, Lopez said he was not certain what indoor temperature would trigger a change in school operations.
The district has since released an Extreme Indoor Air Temperature Operations Plan covering Mesa, Kemper and Lewis-Arriola elementary schools.
The plan establishes five levels of response.
Indoor temperatures from 81 to 84 degrees trigger increased monitoring and cooling measures.
At 85 degrees, a formal mitigation event begins. Schools are directed to provide frequent hydration opportunities, reduce or relocate strenuous activities, use portable cooling equipment and consider moving classes to cooler areas.
At 88 degrees, the district moves to modified operations. Classes may be relocated, activities or schedules may be changed, and early dismissal or closure of part of a building becomes an option.
A sustained indoor temperature of 90 degrees or higher triggers an immediate safety assessment. The superintendent, principal and facilities staff can consider relocation, a modified schedule, early dismissal or temporary closure.
At 95 degrees or higher, the district considers the building presumptively unsafe for normal instruction unless students and staff can immediately be relocated to an appropriate climate-controlled environment.
The plan also requires temperature measurements at least once an hour during formal mitigation or higher-level events. Principals or their designees are directed to keep logs recording indoor temperature, humidity when available, HVAC status and actions taken.
The district says decisions will also consider factors including the length of the heat event, outdoor conditions, ventilation, student age, medical vulnerabilities and the availability of alternate instructional space.
Long-term replacement of the HVAC systems remains unresolved.
Executive Director of Finance Danielle Bradford told KSJD that pending litigation involving the elementary HVAC systems has put major purchasing projects on hold. She said the district is also revising its procurement process in an effort to move more quickly when replacement work can proceed.
Lopez said temporary cooling measures cannot provide the same result as replacing the systems.
“The right solution is a complete new unit,” he said.
Heat on buses and athletic fields
Heat preparations extend beyond classrooms.
Interim Transportation Director Timber Higgins said newer Montezuma-Cortez school buses have air conditioning in both the front and rear.
Older buses do not. Students can open windows, while roof vents can be positioned to circulate outside air through the bus.
Outdoor athletics pose another heat challenge as fall sports begin.
At Mancos High School, Athletic Director Louis Horton said football players are given unrestricted access to a water station near the field.
Coaches also schedule frequent water breaks, allow players to remove their helmets while resting and provide a 10- to 15-minute cooling period during the middle of the team’s two-hour practices.
“We tell the boys at any point you need water, you go get water,” Horton said.
Horton said coaches also reduce practice intensity when conditions are hotter.
Mancos coaches are required to complete Colorado High School Activities Association courses addressing heat illness and heat-stroke prevention.
Football players also begin the season through an acclimatization process. Horton said the team started practices wearing helmets without shoulder pads to allow players to gradually adjust to exercising in the heat.
Coaches repeatedly remind athletes to drink water, eat before practice and report symptoms if they begin feeling ill.
Horton said parents should also continue monitoring athletes after practice, particularly if they appear unusually chilled, cool or clammy after spending time exercising in the heat.
The approaches differ between a classroom and a football field, but both districts are increasingly building heat into their back-to-school planning.
In Montezuma-Cortez, that now includes a formal set of temperature thresholds for determining when ordinary cooling measures are no longer enough.
