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Parents raise heat safety concerns at Patrick Henry High School gym
PrevNextParents and the San Diego Unified School District disagree on whether the Patrick Henry High School gym is safe on hot days, as calls grow for better heat mitigation measures.
By:Emily Coffey
Posted
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Parents say the gym at Patrick Henry High School is dangerously hot — and they want San Diego Unified School District to do something about it
A spokesperson for San Diego Unified School District said they received complaints from 15 parents at a school with a total of 2,600 students
“My personal experience is that it is, again, ridiculous. You’re sitting there, sweating … we would like the district to do something about it,” parent Ellen Peneski said
Peneski’s daughter is on the volleyball team. She says her concern is not only for her daughter who plays and practices in the gym, but for referees who have to stand on high platforms in the summer
“There are mostly more mature adults who are referees, and those adults have to stand on a volleyball platform,” Peneski said. “What would happen if they got dizzy, some heatstroke happened and they fell?”
The district says the gym has exceeded 86 degrees only once this year and points to CIF safety measures and cooling zones already in place to protect students on hot days. They also say that the Patrick Henry High School gymnasium does not have a thermometer on the wall, but that staff was monitoring the temperature to ensure safe conditions
“Any athletic activities taking place in the gymnasium follow the CIF guidelines,” A spokesperson for San Diego Unified School District said in an email. “… The school implements cool zones in its large cafetorium and in its performing arts [facilities.]”
No gyms in the San Diego Unified School District have air conditioning, and the district made that decision long ago
Parents say their concerns have gone unaddressed
“We’ve told the district multiple times … nothing’s been done,” Peneski said
Peneski and other parents are not asking for a full HVAC overhaul. Instead, they are calling for more vents, a thermometer inside the gym and additional fans
In a letter sent to parents at Patrick Henry High School, the school said there were two large industrial fans ventilating the gym and that the ventilation schedule had been extended by an additional six hours, from 6:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night
“Make the mitigation activities that they can do appropriate — they can buy robust fans on the sidelines, they can install a heat monitoring system,” Peneski said
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