Columbus is one several Ohio school districts with buildings lacking air conditioning.
They also have been closed or releasing students early because of excessive heat. A state representative is calling on education leaders to provide an inventory of school buildings lacking air conditioning. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles reports.
Republican House Education Committee chair Andy Brenner says he’s not sure the state actually has information about how many school buildings in the state are air conditioned. And even if it did, he doesn’t think it’s the state’s obligation to make sure they are.
“I’m not sure what the cost would be to retrofit buildings because you would have to deal with a lot of buildings that may be 100 years old and it may not be possible to retrofit them.”
Brenner says local districts should be the ones to decide whether they want to add air conditioning. He says schools have the option of taking calamity days, with lost time made up before school ends for the summer.