Santa Barbara Unified Shortens School Day in Response to Extreme Heat

Even with Thursday’s cloudy skies, extreme heat prompted a short day for Santa Barbara Unified (SBUSD) students who attend schools without air conditioning. 

Students at Harding, McKinley, Santa Barbara High School, Santa Barbara Junior High, Franklin, and Cleveland were placed on a minimum day schedule on Thursday due to forecasted extreme heat. 

Temperatures in Santa Barbara were forecasted to reach or exceed 90 degrees on Thursday and Friday. The National Weather Service declared an extreme heat warning across Santa Barbara County due to the heat wave this week, with sweltering conditions expected to last until Friday night. 

To protect students, the district implemented its minimum day schedule at those six schools. The problem lies in what the schools lack: air conditioning.

District spokesperson Ed Zuchelli explained that Santa Barbara’s historically mild climate meant many schools were built without air conditioning. But due to climate change, the region has warmed significantly over time. Summers are hotter now. Santa Barbara’s old infrastructure has not kept up — and is notoriously expensive to upgrade. 

The district has made improvements thanks to bond-funded construction projects and available grants, but installing new HVAC systems is a challenging and costly process, especially since some buildings are 100 years old. 

Districts throughout the state, including SBUSD, had HVAC improvements in the works, but funding was provided through a state grant program — called CalSHAPE — which is expiring. The district does not have time to finish the work it started to install air conditioning, including at the schools with minimum days.

“State and federal funding has not been sufficient to complete this work districtwide, and this summer the state withdrew CalSHAPE grant funding that could have helped support additional HVAC improvements,” Zuchelli confirmed.

Researchers with UC Santa Barbara’s 2035 Initiative analyzed schools across the state and found that the need for HVAC upgrades is huge. Harding Elementary, for one, was assessed and found that 38 out of 40 HVAC systems need replacement. “No wonder they are closed today,” said researcher Leah Stokes on Thursday. 

The state froze new applications for CalSHAPE in July 2024 with roughly $194 million still sitting in the fund unused, according to Stokes, who is advocating for the program’s extension. 

The money reverts back to utility companies on December 1 unless the legislature acts immediately, she said.

“The California legislature must act now to extend the funding through the budget trailer bill,” Stokes urged. “And Governor Newsom must agree to it. Senator Monique Limón and Assemblymember Gregg Hart have been longtime champions of this issue. Governor Newsom should do the right thing and give kids in our community AC.”

She and her team are pushing for the grant to be extended this week, for at least three years, to give districts more time to apply for the available funds and complete necessary upgrades.

Otherwise, providing air conditioning across the entire district will require significant additional funding, Zuchelli said, and may need to be considered as part of a future bond measure. 

In the meantime, the district follows NWS forecasts and risk assessments for guidance. And when it needs to beat the heat, it changes school schedules, limits outdoor activities, and modifies classrooms with shade, windows, and fans.

On Thursday, parents had the option of early pickup at SBUSD’s six at-risk schools. If parents could not pick up their children, or did not have a cool place at home, students could stay on campus in cooler rooms under adult supervision until the end of the normal school day. 

The district will return to a normal dismissal schedule on Friday, Zuchelli said. Heat risk is projected to be lower on Friday, he noted, and some children do not have air conditioning at home, so it is sometimes safer to keep them at school. 

He said all campuses will continue enforcing safety measures during warm afternoon hours, including maximizing classroom ventilation, rotating classes into air-conditioned or cooler spaces, and restricting outdoor physical activities during peak heat and providing continuous hydration breaks. 

He said parents with site-specific questions are encouraged to reach out to their school’s administrative office directly.

Here are some of the district’s tips for parents to help keep kids cool at school: 

• Dress children in lightweight, light-colored, and loose-fitting clothing.
• Ensure they bring a water bottle that can be refilled throughout the day.
• Apply sunscreen if outdoor exposure is expected.
• Educate children on the importance of staying hydrated and taking breaks when feeling hot.