Since 2017, City Schools has implemented a plan - approved by the Governor of Maryland - to provide improved heating and cooling systems at campuses without them. As of April 2023, City Schools decreased the number of schools without air conditioning from 75 schools in 2017 to 11 schools, along with needed upgrades to electrical systems and windows.
Below is a host of information, updated regularly, about these efforts.
All 11 of the remaining projects have committed and identified funding through the Built to Learn Program, the 21st Century Buildings Program, ESSER, Healthy Schools Funding, or the Capital Improvement Plan. This includes one project that is scheduled to be completed by August 2023 and five projects that will extend throughout the 2023-24 school year. The remaining schools will be completed as part of a building replacement or renovation plan or are schools that are slated for closure.
Heating
In prolonged or extreme cold weather, some schools with older heating systems can experience problems with malfunctioning heating equipment or burst pipes and associated water damage. In this case, the district may need to close buildings or dismiss early due to lack of adequate heat and water.
Cooling
City Schools is moving to install air-conditioning in all district-owned buildings, through either the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) or the 21st Century School Buildings Program. The plan calls for systems that provide both cooling and heat, to address temperatures year round. Depending on the school, the system may be a building-wide central HVAC system or wall-mounted "vertical package" room units.