'Undeniably astronomical': Air-conditioning Appleton schools would cost $52 million
Reader question: Does the Appleton Area School District have a plan to air-condition all of its classrooms? The temperatures sometimes reach 85 degrees or more, which hinders learning. Can the district use money from the American Rescue Plan Act for that?
Answer: The cost to install air-conditioning in all of the district's schools and classrooms would be immense: $52 million, according to information compiled by Kylie Harwell, the district's communications coordinator.
The estimate consists of $32 million at the elementary level, or an average of $2 million for each of the district's 16 elementary schools, plus $20 million for Madison and Wilson middle schools, Kaleidoscope Academy and Appleton West High School.
Einstein Middle School and Appleton East and Appleton North high schools already are fully air-conditioned, as are the district's computer labs, library media areas, offices and weight rooms.
The $52 million cost, which the district described as "undeniably astronomical," is more than leaders want to tackle.
Had the expense been included in last fall’s $129.8 million referendum, it would have resulted in an additional tax burden of $495 for a $100,000 property, $990 for a $200,000 property and $1,485 for a $300,000 property.
"The need for air-conditioning in our schools is typically limited to 10 or fewer days each year," the district said in an email. "Given this relatively brief period of use, the investment in air-conditioning would not be justifiable, considering the immense cost involved."
Watchdog Q&A: Duke Behnke answers your local government questions
Appleton schools received $21.5 million in federal aid related to the coronavirus pandemic through stimulus packages such as the American Rescue Plan Act, the district said.
The first round of funding was spent during the pandemic on technology. The second and third rounds were spent on cleaning, social distancing and additional health staff. The balance has been directed to additional staffing to help students overcome learning disruptions caused by the pandemic.
That meets the intent of the emergency aid, which was to confront immediate challenges to safety and student learning arising from the pandemic.
"While the lack of air-conditioning is challenging a few days out of each year, we believe that our current priorities are in the best interest of our students and the community," the district said.
Post-Crescent reporter Duke Behnke answers your questions about local government. Send questions to dbehnke@gannett.com or call him at 920-993-7176.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Cooling all Appleton schools would come at a hefty price: $52 million
