Posted on 12/16/2005 11:40:33 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Bundle up, kids. It's getting cold inside.
As oil and natural gas prices soar, public schools are having to make some tough decisions: turning down the thermostat, finding alternative sources of fuel, even cutting back on the school week.
At Menomonie High School in western Wisconsin, principal Tom Wiatr has dropped the temperature a few degrees. Students started wearing zip-up sweatshirts and fleeces to stay warm, raising questions about a school rule against wearing jackets indoors.
So the school clarified its policy, even scheduling a fashion show to highlight acceptable clothing.
Naturally, it was snowed out.
So far, students are lukewarm to the school's strategy. The classroom temperature is 68 degrees.
"When we get into February, when we are below zero and the building takes longer to warm up, maybe then they will be a little more uncomfortable," Wiatr said of his students. "We just remind kids to dress appropriately. It is common sense that you just don't wear a tank top to school in February."
Schools are being socked with high fuel bills, whether it's diesel fuel to run their buses or heating oil or natural gas to keep buildings warm. Fuel prices have risen because of tight international supplies and reduced production in the hurricane-slammed Gulf Coast.
As schools lower the thermostats, they also encourage parents to make sure their children have a sweater handy.
"We have kids who go to school wearing shorts even in the wintertime, and the schools are making sure parents know their kids need extra clothing," said John Ellis, executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. "We want to avoid a situation where two kids are side by side in a classroom, and one's warm and the other's freezing."
In Council, Idaho, the school district is switching this winter to a new heating system that uses extra wood from the surrounding Payette National Forest. "We believe that this will be the standard in many of the small towns in the Northwest, because there is so much potential fuel out there that is being wasted," said superintendent Murray Dalgleish.
At the Clayton Public Schools in rural southern New Jersey, reducing the temperature in class is more than a cost-cutting tool. It's also a learning tool, argues Kathy Latshaw, secretary to the school system's superintendent.
"For the little ones, it's teaching them about hot and cold," she said. "And in the upper grades, they're able to learn about the cost of things."
Even the cost of brewing a cup of coffee on campus is going up.
In St. Paul, Minn., the school district has come up with a $25-per-appliance annual fee as one in a series of steps to recoup utility costs. That means teachers have to pay to plug in their coffee makers, microwaves and refrigerators in classrooms and offices.
At the Summerfield High School in Louisiana's Claiborne Parish, the sprinklers for the ball fields have been shut off, as have the few lights that used to be kept on after hours.
In western North Dakota, the Killdeer School District is considering going to a four-day school week, triggered in part by higher fuel costs.
With the coldest months ahead, school business officers are worried most about heating their buildings. Rising fuel costs seem to affect the price of just about everything, they say, from furniture and deliveries to construction material and even garbage bags.
Simply budgeting more money to cover heating costs is more difficult than it sounds, said Anne Miller, executive director of the Association of School Business Officials International.
Schools sometimes gamble, lulled by mild winters and lower heating bills. They set aside less for heating and more for salaries or supplies. When a cold winter or an energy crisis comes, they may have to cut expenses from the class. Or just keep those classes colder.
"Cutting something from the instructional side isn't something that anyone wants to anticipate," Miller said. "It's more a case of, we'll deal with that when we get here."
___
Associated Press writers Robert Imrie, Brian Bakst, Blake Nicholson, Carolyn Thompson, Chris Newmarker, Stacey Plaisance, Anne Wallace Allen and Rick Callahan contributed to this story from around the country.
On The Net:
Association of School Business Officials International: http://asbointl.org/index.asp
72 in the winter, 68 in the summer...only way to go...
"For the little ones, it's teaching them about hot and cold,"
That's what kitchen stoves are for.
I've set mine at 50 but I'm in Southern CA.
The schools and all other government administered functions are about pay and benefits for the public employee union member, not the supposed service to be delivered.
People will accept high taxes in exchange for no services, let them get what they deserve. In Massachusetts towns pass overrides of property taxes to save the children and see 99% of the tax increase go directly to teachers and administrators pay/benefit increase.
Next year the same suckers will vote to raise their taxes again for the same reason... And wonder why the middle class and businesses are fleeing.
Back when I was a kid the teacher used to send us outside to bring in snowballs to keep us warm.
Yeah, easy for you to say! We're in the Philly area. It's cold here.
"72 in the winter, 68 in the summer"
Same here!
Yeah, 68 is too cool in the summer, makes you feel the heat too much when you go outdoor. 72-75 is just about right and feels plenty cool when you come indoors. And 68 feels plenty warm compared to the sub-zero temperatures outside.
When I was in high school (only 3 years ago) We would place wet paper towels on the thermostats because every room was diferent in temps. We had rooms over 80 and rooms around 60.
It was maily beause we had a boiler from the 1930s which still had a blast door and was converted to natural gas.
Amazlingly it tooks years to get this fixed but we had new computers and updated software every single year.
Because wearing a sweatshirt in class was tooooo burdensome?
When some of the parents complained the school solved the problem by declaring that it "really wasn't that cold" and forbade the students from wearing coats, hats, etc. Problem solved government style.
It was a really fun semester.
I don't get so cold as a lot of people, so I can do that. But some people really get quite cold and I think it's a lot to ask to have them stay there like that every day. I know some people whose hands get so cold that they have a hard time working.
Comrade students! Today we will be learning what life will be like in evil Amerikkka after the Maximum Leader, Madam Hillary, smashes your pesky capitalist prosperity with the iron first of socialism!
OOPS! Read the post wrong! DUH! We keep it 72-74 in the summer and 68 in the winter!
I can't stand it lower than 76.
How about having summer vacation in the winter to keep down heating costs.
Couldn't they burn cheese? Would it be much different from growning corn, makinging it into alcohold and burning it? The later is subsidized by the taxpayer...subsidized food burning is a good description. Cheese could be subsidized and burned too!
Yeah 68 is a little chilly but it is livable especially if you wear layers and drink a hot beverage every now and then.
Uh, I read it wrong, too. I keep the house warmer when the AC is on and cooler when the heat is on. Apparently you do the same thing.
air cond.=79
heat=79
Just right.
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