Poudre Schools Wants Help With Long-Term Plan For Hot Schools

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - A Front Range school district is looking to cool things down in the classroom and they're trying to come up with a long-term plan to deal with hot temperatures.

The Poudre School District's two weeks of early release days has come to an end. Now the district wants to know whether the strategy for beating the heat worked.

Just nine of the district's 50 schools have some kind of cooling system. So for the first time ever the district's elementary and middle school students spent the last two weeks going home two hours early. While the plan took students out of what many consider unbearable heat, lots of parents say early release created a logistical nightmare.

"It's great (Superintendent Dr. Sandra) Smyser is actually taking a part in doing this. I think it's been a problem for a long time and I've been in the district 11 years and it's ridiculous how hot our buildings are," parent Jessy Lloyd said.

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The district plans to spend the next two weeks conducting a survey. They'll ask parents to rank the following options:

- Return to traditional school year
- Start the school year two weeks later -- in early September
- Keep early release days
- Announce "Heat" days
- Put in air conditioning

That last option could cost taxpayers more than $50 million.

Surveys will be available online and paper copies in schools by the end of this week. The district hopes to have feedback and a plan for next school year in place by the end of this first semester.