Students sweltering in some schools

PROVO — The back-to-school blues included some red faces Monday for thousands of Provo students when their summer vacation ended Monday and the dog days of August followed them into classrooms without air conditioning.

Schoolchildren at four elementary schools escaped the brunt of an 88-degree day because the first day of school ended early, as scheduled, before the heat of the day.

Students at Centennial Middle School had a full day of school in a building that, in higher temperatures last week, grew hot enough that multiple sources said more than one teacher went home early from preparation time because they didn't feel well.

A vice principal at Centennial could not confirm those reports, Provo School District student services director Greg Hudnall said.

"We've had our problems," Hudnall said. "I imagine it was pretty hot for them."

Temperatures are expected to climb above 90 today and remain there through the rest of the week.

"It has been extremely hot and we've had to get all kinds of fans," said a member of the Rock Canyon Elementary faculty who requested anonymity because the employee wasn't authorized to talk about the problem. "The temperature is cooler outside today, so it's not as bad as last week. They told us it would be fixed by today, but we've heard that story all summer."

Provo School District officials have been scrambling to fix air conditioning systems, Hudnall said, but with problems affecting several schools, they have found it difficult to find enough manpower to address all of the problems at during a summer that included massive projects like the start of construction of a new elementary school, demolition of an old elementary school and major improvements at a number other schools.

"The problem is just getting enough people to respond," Hudnall said.

After some sweaty back-to-school nights last week, workers successfully got the a/c running in time for the first day at Provo High School, Farrer Elementary and Westridge Elementary.

"We've got air," Westridge principal Gaye Gibbs said at midday Monday. "We've had it about two hours."

Relief could come soon for the four elementary schools still experiencing trouble — Rock Canyon, Canyon Crest, Wasatch and Timpanogos.