As the school year comes to a close and summer begins, many students enjoy the heat without homework, tests, or projects until fall. Even after a long day in the sun, many want to cool down, whether from the pool, ocean, or, in this case, a nice air-conditioned house. Air conditioning, a basic piece of educational infrastructure, has become a luxury for students in many older schools. Unfortunately, they have to bear the burden of learning in extreme heat while the public education system keeps kicking the problem down the road.
Having no air conditioning in any classroom at this point is unacceptable. Students should not have to attend school in these kinds of conditions. When I was in high school, there was a modernized part of the school that was fully air-conditioned. The original portion of the school, which opened in the 1950s, is not fully air-conditioned. While many of the newer schools, or newer wings of schools, have built-in air conditioning, many schools are not fully air-conditioned. For example, in Jersey City, only a third of its 44 schools are fully air-conditioned. This gap shows that students still lack the basic classroom conditions they need to learn safely, and it puts them at risk of heat-related illness.
Hot classrooms hurt a student’s focus, ability to learn, and are uncomfortable for students and teachers alike. According to NPR, four out of ten school districts across the country report replacing their HVAC systems as a major problem. Even worse, The Hill reports that student test scores falter every time heat levels increase above 85 degrees. Students should not be put in an environment where they cannot perform at their best.
\Fundamentally, this issue is an infrastructure problem. State and local leaders, in conjunction with local school boards, need to take action on this so students can get through their day without sweating so much. If New Jersey truly wants to modernize education, it can start by allocating funds in the upcoming budget to address this issue. As of right now, in the new fiscal year’s budget, which begins on July 1, $22.5 billion is allocated towards K-12 education, a record high. Our leaders in Trenton should prioritize additional funding to modernize school facilities, which include HVAC systems, electrical infrastructure, and plumbing. This problem would take a multi-year effort to complete for every Garden State school to have every room be cool in the warm months.
In 2026, there is no excuse for any student, no matter what school they attend, to be expected to learn in an overheated classroom. Overheated classrooms do no good for the student or the teacher. Providing every classroom with reliable air conditioning is not just about comfort, but also about giving every student a safe and productive learning environment.
To learn more about my work, please visit my website.
Listen to The Anthony Miragliotta Show on Spotify - New Jersey’s #1 independently hosted politics podcast.
Follow New Jersey Outlook on X.
As long as the NJEA is allowing people like Spiller to squander money, and running the teachers Union like an organized crime syndicate, and NJPS Administrations (like Nellis Drive in Wayne) continue to be terribly top-heavy with Bureaucratic salaries, there will never be enough tax dollars left for air conditioning. Notice the NJEA and the Administrations don't lobby for AC; they have AC, and the NJPS Boondoggle gravy train is too lucrative. Most school buildings in NJ are the same as the date/decade they were built.