As the D.C. region continues to sweat through a record-breaking late-summer heat wave, some D.C. public school students don’t have air conditioning in their classrooms. It’s a problem the city has been grappling with for decades, but this year, the start of the school term coincided with D.C.’s hottest 4-day stretch on record for September.

“We’ve just been failed on numerous occasions because of what we call bandaid-fix solutions,” says Angela Anderson, president of the parent teacher organization at Whittier Elementary in Ward 4, and parent of 3rd grader at the school. “Every year since I’ve been there, there has been some type of unhealthy HVAC issue.”

Whittier started out the school year last week with four classrooms without fully functioning cooling systems, Anderson says. On Tuesday this week, the PTO raised the alarm about a preschool classroom that “felt like 100 degrees,” according to Anderson. Later that afternoon, the Department of General Services, which is in charge of school maintenance in the District, installed a temporary window unit in the pre-k classroom.

“It helped a little. It kind of felt like hot breath and warm hugs when the teacher and the students came in. But it was better than nothing,” Anderson says.

As of Thursday morning, two classrooms at Whittier had temporary window units, while two classrooms where still without air conditioning entirely, according to Anderson.

It’s not clear exactly how many schools and classrooms are dealing with similar problems, but according to an online DGS dashboard, there are currently 84 high-priority work orders for malfunctioning HVAC systems across D.C. public schools. In addition, there are 734 open work orders for routine HVAC maintenance. Many of these work orders are for just once classroom or office; however, some suggest more widespread problems, with the affected area noted as “school wide,” or “multiple halls and floors.”

The largest number of open high priority HVAC work orders is in Ward 8.

A spokesperson for DGS said in a statement that the agency has “more than 100 in-house and contracted professionals committed to ensuring that the District government’s facilities are safe and comfortable environments during this unprecedented heat.” He noted that crews had already completed 1,780 work orders related to heating and cooling systems in the city’s public schools this year, but declined to offer specific information on how many schools and classrooms currently have no air conditioning or are relying on temporary window units.

A DCPS spokesperson deferred to DGS for comment for this story.

The D.C. Council has been pushing DGS and DCPS to be more transparent about HVAC issues at schools. Last year, the council passed emergency legislation requiring DGS to provide more thorough reports on the condition of heating and cooling systems at schools, along with plans for temporary measures for classrooms where the HVAC isn’t working. However, that legislation expired at the end of 2022.

Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) has oversight over DGS, and sponsored the emergency legislation.  Her spokesperson Alex Taliadoros said in an email that the DGS online dashboard “faces data quality issues,” showing some work orders as being closed when they shouldn’t be, and others still open after they’ve already been resolved.

“Our office has been pushing DGS to be proactive in preparing school buildings to welcome back students by conducting citywide school readiness tours early this summer, increasing DGS’ facility operations budget, and regular follow-up meetings and engagement with the agency on needed school repairs,” Taliadoros said.

Malfunctioning air conditioning is becoming more of a problem for schools due to climate change — with hot weather creeping further into the fall and spring semesters. By 2080, there could be two or three times as many heat emergency days in the District, when the heat index makes it feel like 95 degrees or higher.

Over the past few decades, the District has spent billions of dollars modernizing schools — completely revamping and expanding buildings that in many cases are 100 years old or more. Anderson says that schools that haven’t been modernized yet, like Whittier, are falling apart. Last October, she says, a radiator exploded in a school corridor.

“Instead of them repairing that radiator that exploded in the hallway, they instead removed the radiator and it was just cold. The kids would walk by, they started wearing coats,” Anderson says.