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Furnace hasn’t kicked on despite cold temperatures[/heading]In a world of bare midriffs and short shorts, it’s not unusual to find students who are bothered by the air conditioning. As the weather changes to facilitate sweaters, though, RBHS hasn’t been getting any warmer. The frigid classrooms are starting to affect learning habits,  RBHS faculty members and students said.

“I like to think that it doesn’t [affect the focus of my students], but I do hear complaints about it pretty much every day,”  Carrie Stephenson, an art teacher, said. “I think it is really hard to focus when you’re holding, you know, a metal exacto knife and trying to create an art project, but your hands are shaking because you’re so cold.  So I’d say it directly affects the focus, for sure.”

Assistant principal Brian Gaub, who is in charge of building operations, says the fact the school’s air conditioning hasn’t been shut off yet, while the boiler has stayed on caused this cool turn of events. The air has stayed on to combat the inconsistency of recent temperatures and avoid overheating the building but is instead causing chilly temperatures in much of the school.

“Pieces of the heating system they say gets turned off either around the first of November or when the temperature is steadily in the 40s,” Gaub said. “Like, [Friday], it was 70 degrees.  So they haven’t turned the air conditioning off yet, but the heat can run. It just wasn’t running this [Monday] morning.”

According to a poll of 200 students, a little fewer than 50 percent say they are cold, in their 3A classroom. Freshman Skyler Froese is one of student who says her degree of comfort is tied to where her classroom is.

“Most the time, it’s not bad, but there are some classes where it’s just too cold for you to sit and listen to a teacher giving their lecture,” Froese said. “It can get a little distracting sometimes.”

Temperatures are expected to drop to 30 degrees tonight.
How are you feeling in your classroom?
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