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Miserable Monday for QCA schools without air conditioning

More than a dozen Quad City Area schools dismissed early Monday, August 25 due to the sultry temperatures. At Riverdale High School in Port Byron, Illinois, tem...

More than a dozen Quad City Area schools dismissed early Monday, August 25 due to the sultry temperatures.

At Riverdale High School in Port Byron, Illinois, temperatures peaked near 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the classrooms and hallways. The high school doesn't have air conditioning, but the elementary and middle school does.

In the high school, both students and teachers were immersed in sweat.

"The only air flow coming into the building is from what windows are open and from fans running" said Superintendent Ronald Jacobs.

Jacobs decided early Monday to release Riverdale High School students at 1:10 p.m.

"When the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities issues a heat advisory, that's a signal to us that we need to exercise caution; we use that as our primary first indicator," Jacobs said.

While students wouldn't be in class at the peak of the heat, Jacobs worried about students' focus.

"Quiet honestly, one o'clock is really pushing it. When you are asking students to sit and learn for five hours in those very uncomfortable conditions, it's tough on kids and on the teachers," said Jacobs.

Jacobs added that students were kept until 1:10 p.m. because he wanted students to eat lunch before going home.

"We didn't want them going home on an empty stomach," Jacobs said.

Although the students were released early, athletic teams would still be available to practice after school.

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