A group of teachers are demanding that air conditioning be installed in their classrooms. This project would cost the taxpayers a fortune, and is completely unnecessary. Our school is located in the northeastern part of the country. School is in sessions from early September until mid June. I typically run my home’s furnace from September until sometime in April. I have never bothered to invest in central air conditioning for my home. The summer weather is rarely all that hot, and doesn’t really heat up until July. There is absolutely no need to purchase an expensive cooling system for the school. For the few weeks when the weather might actually be a bit hot and humid, the teachers can open windows and run box fans. If we were going to invest in air conditioning in any area of the school, I would suggest the gymnasium. We use the gymnasium for basketball games, wrestling matches, athletic practices, school dances, assemblies, testing and much more. People from the community utilize the gym all year round. If there’s extra money to spend, however, I would suggest we focus on the integrity of the heating system and air quality. The same heating system has been operating since I was in school, fifteen years ago. It is not overly energy efficiency, makes a lot of noise, introduces dust and other contaminants and creates issues with overly dry air. I blame excessive absenteeism of the students and faculty on the heating system. We should focus on updating the heater and adding air quality accessories, such as an air purifier or humidifier.