I have sadly come to the conclusion that I cannot support the current District 112 referendum. I am concerned about sloppy thinking, both in fundamental assumptions and the proposed solution. The original reason for this referendum was to solve the district’s financial crisis and the current proposal does not solve that problem.
The argument for air conditioning all of the buildings is a clear example of sloppy thinking. In the district’s posted FAQs they make reference to temperature records and say that the reason we need to air condition all the buildings is that the overall average temperature in September is 80 degrees.
That didn’t sound right to me, so I checked on weatherunderground.com. It turns out the district’s numbers show the September daytime high temperatures — the overall average September temperatures in 2011-15 were mild: 64 to 72 degrees. The night time lows were a chilly 50-59 degrees. In other words the cool September nights provide an opportunity for our buildings to cool down.
Put simply, on this issue, the district’s underlying assumption is just plain wrong and there undoubtedly were other solutions to the problem that there are a few days when classrooms are uncomfortably warm. There may be other reasons for air conditioning the buildings, but average temperature is not one of them.
I’ve been a strong supporter of Districts 112 and 113 and I believe our property values depend in part on our reputation for having great schools. We need to fix District 112’s problems, but this referendum doesn’t do it. A “no” vote in March will tell the School Board to go back to the drawing board.
Jean Sogin
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