Aliso Niguel’s air conditioning units have been breaking down constantly, leaving students in an uncomfortable classroom environment at the beginning of the school year.
Many of the classrooms in the portable buildings have been working really well, almost a little too well. With temperatures seemingly in the low 60’s, many students prefer to layer and wear hoodies in the morning.
However, this is simply not the case in the 300, 400, and 500 buildings of the school. Many of the school’s air conditioning in the main classrooms has been frequently breaking down throughout the entirety of last year.
Ms. Lee, a Precalculus and an AP Computer Science Principles teacher, stated, “it was for sure really hard having students engaged when the classrooms seemed to be 86 degrees. It was certainly hard to teach the class as well.”
Ms. Lee said, “I contacted the custodians on the first day to assess the problem, however it took almost a week for them to get the job done.”
Lee’s classroom used a small, weak-powered fan in order to subdue the scorching heat of the classroom throughout the day. Due to the fan being so weak, not all of the students in the classroom got to feel the wind, causing no difference in the internal temperature of the classroom.
With the sun shining right through the windows during the beginning of the day, as the outside classrooms of the 500 building are some of the few classrooms on the campus that have exposure to sunlight throughout the day. Lee has Precalculus classes that take place in the morning, and Computer Science classes in the afternoon that experience the sun’s heat.
Steven Workman (12) had to experience the discomfort and said that the baking classroom, “made me feel uncomfortable, and it was hard to focus for a little while. I had to mainly take learning into my own hands at home, which was where I felt like I am most efficient with my time”
Concerns arise as to whether the Capistrano Unified School District can keep up with the maintenance of the AC units, or if the faulty units will have to be replaced. One of the maintenance workers at Aliso Niguel stated that in the future, the air conditioning systems should be less susceptible to breaking down, and the response to helping out broken down classroom air conditioning units does need to be more urgent.
Although Aliso Niguel has been rated one of the top schools in the nation according to US News and Worlds Report, there have still been some faults and minor issues to start the 2023-2024 school year with.
