DENVER — Denver Public Schools has spent years and millions of dollars working to install air conditioning in schools.
But dozens of schools still rely on portable cooling devices and fans to help keep teachers and students cool on warm days. They've even called for early dismissals to keep students out of classrooms that get hotter as the day progresses.
Now, the state's largest school district has a plan to get air conditioning and cooling upgrades into the 30 schools that still need the upgrade.
Plans for a 2024 bond measure are moving quickly through the Community Planning Advisory Committee or CPAC.
"We made a recommendation of $975 million to the committee and they've been working on this since January," said Melissa Rosales, CPAC member and Senior Program Manager with DPS.
One big piece of the plan, Rosales said, is getting AC into all schools.
"This will actually be the remaining amount of schools. So there's 30 schools in this package to receive air conditioning," she said.
The ability to keep classrooms cool is a massive weight off the district's shoulders.
"It is, it is absolutely," Rosales said.
East High junior Noah Shurz is among the committee's 60 members.
"As a student, I'm a big part of the district," he said. "The district functions for me and a lot of my friends and a lot of other students. And I just really wanted to make sure that I was in the room to not make those decisions but really work on the issues that students really care about – which sustainability, is a big piece of that."
With a nearly $1 billion investment in the district at stake, Shurz is making sure students and sustainability are being considered with every piece of the plan.
"I really wanted to hear some more sustainability perspectives and that was really something I was able to bring in was kind of my perspective as a student on all of that," Shurz said.
While the price tag for the proposed capital improvements is high, Rosales said the bond would not bring a tax increase. If the bond is approved, work is expected to start quickly with the first round of schools getting AC next summer.
"I think that it improves the learning environments for all of our students," Rosales said.
CPAC will propose their plan to the school board next month. The board is expected to vote on the bond in August and if they approve it will go before voters in the fall.
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