NYC kids attending non-air conditioned schools today advised to "wear light clothing"

It's going to be hellishly hot today in New York City, where schools are still in session. No doubt lots of learning will take place in the 36% of public schools that have no air conditioning:

New York City's 1.1 million public school students are still in session for another week, and just 64 percent of classrooms are air-conditioned. Temperatures are expected to hit 97 in the city both days, about 20 degrees hotter than it was in Central Park on Tuesday.

Students were being advised to wear light clothing and drink plenty of water, and schools have been told to limit outdoor playtime, city Education Department spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said.

So, yeah, kids, you probably won't need that jacket today as you wilt, sweat, and gasp for air continue to develop your intellect in these fine institutions of learning.

Hang on -- there's a school in Brooklyn with air conditioners to spare. Too bad they're all sitting in the basement in their original boxes:

But while the classrooms at New Horizons Middle School do not have air-conditioners, the school’s storage room does.

Earlier this school year, workers discovered 10 unopened boxes of air-conditioner units in the basement, said Deanna Sinito, the principal of New Horizons, in Carroll Gardens. School officials and the Education Department could not say how long the air-conditioners had been there and do not agree on how they got there. (The company that makes the air-conditioners said they were manufactured in 2009.)

While many students are accustomed to sweaty school days, officials say that air-conditioners would be a benefit at New Horizons, where children with special needs attend classes from sixth to eighth grade alongside peers who don’t have disabilities. And in September, the school will house a program for sixth-grade students that have different types of autistic disorders.

If you're so inclined, say a prayer for these poor kids today. In-classroom  temperatures will likely top 100 degrees. Can we admit that this system is not kid-friendly?

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Suggestion: Teachers at the hot schools should organize field trips to City Hall, where cool air flows in abundance. If the mayor were less obsessed with beverage serving-sizes perhaps some of those idle air conditioners might have been installed by now.

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Mark Steyn digs deeper: Shovel-Ready Project in the Basement. It's a tale of laziness, negligence, and . . . fairness. Steyn:

I like the Education Department’s rationale:

The school has 18 classrooms. If the 10 units in storage are used, that would leave the children and teachers in the other 8 rooms uncomfortable on hot days.

Better a thousand kids fry than that a privileged few chill. As Alfred the Butler observed to Batman a movie or two back, “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

Many thanks to Mark for the link.

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