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Baltimore County, City schools impacted by heat

3rd time for county, 1st early release for city
Posted at 3:25 PM, Sep 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-09 06:54:06-04

Baltimore students got out early or didn't have school at all Thursday all because of the heat.

County schools without air conditioning shut down for the third time this school year, and city schools let out at noon for the first time.

Parents who were picking up their students at Barclay Elementary complained about the heat and were visibly sweating.

"I come from all the way downtown and I had to catch a couple buses up here to come get them," Mother Tracy Sheldon said.

Other parents had to deal with rearranging their schedules.

"I had to call out of work," Mom Laditre Dashiell said. She works at McDonalds and lost a day's pay.

"I wasn't supposed to get off work until 4:30," Mom Danielle Clark said. Clark works down the street at Mamma Lucia's and her boss was understanding, telling her to go get her kids.

Grandmothers, uncles and other family members picked up students if their parents' could not get out of work.

Family members say this is a problem. Blaming the district for not acting fast and putting in air conditioning in the schools. Governor Larry Hogan said Wednesday he supports a possible solution.

"We decided to finally act on what everyone has recommended for several years now," saying studies show starting school after Labor Day will solve the heat school closure problem.

But here we are, after Labor Day and Thursday was the hottest forecast day since school started.

"Ya'll have to get better, the kids need air conditioning don't slack up their education just because of some heat," Dashiell said.

This also comes after Baltimore County Schools made changes to their heat policy. On August 30th, the school board voted schools will only be closed if the forecast says the heat index will reach 90 degrees by 11 a.m. If it reaches 90 by 3 p.m.. parents can pull their student out of school and get an excused absence.

"They have a more strict curriculum and they can afford to take a few days off. Us? We struggling, so we need that," Dashiell said.

Plans are in place to install air conditioning units in the Baltimore County Schools by August of 2019. 

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