ALLENTOWN, Pa.— Allen High School will get a $2.5 million grant that will help it get a new heating and air-conditioning system, it was announced Friday.
Extreme temperatures in classrooms have long been an issue in Allentown School District buildings, and that could interfere with learning, said state Rep. Peter Schweyer (D-Lehigh), who announced the grant at a news conference.
"People ask, why are we focused on facilities? And my answer is, it's really hard to take notes in mittens.'State Rep. Peter Schweyer
"People ask, why are we focused on facilities?" Schweyer said. "And my answer is, it's really hard to take notes in mittens.
"We need to have an honest conversation about what our kids are going through each and every day."
Also speaking at the conference was state Rep. Mike Schlossberg, who helped secure the funding from the state Department of Community Economic Development's Act 34 public school facility improvement grant program.
Schlossberg expressed the importance of enhancing the learning environment for students and staff.
The grant is part of a bigger picture: $37.5 million in state funds that are part of a broader plan to create more efficient and equitable learning conditions for the district's 16,700 students and more than 2,000 employees.
The new HVAC system is set to be finished in spring, and part of the construction strategy is to maximize use of holidays, breaks and evenings to access classrooms without disrupting the curriculum.
'You got to have a jacket on'
Allen senior Josh Reyes said he breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the new HVAC plans. Reyes said the temperatures can be unpredictable in the building.
"You know, one class would be 50 degrees, and you got to have a jacket on, and then the next classroom you got to, like, take off all your layers, because you're sweating and everything," he said.
"So it's kind of a mixture, you know."
When whether he's ever heard of students considering skipping class because of the temperatures, he said. "I'm one of them."
"For example, like the lunch room, it'd be, like, so hot. I just wouldn't even go to lunch," he said. "I would just sit in a teacher's classroom, wait there till the next period. I wouldn't eat.
"You know, I wouldn't miss a class because of it. But in terms of my electives and related arts, yeah, I'd miss, them."
'Not the entire fair share, it's a start'
Allentown School District Superintendent Carol D. Birks emphasized that she is grateful for the grant, but said district still has needs that are going unmet.
Asked how it took so long for Allen to get a proper HVAC system, she said there's some context.
"I think, over the years, as a district, throughout the Commonwealth, school districts were underfunded," Birks said.
"Allentown has been given — not the entire fair share, it's a start — but we've received generous grants, like $39 million that we did not even expect this year. So as a result of these additional grant opportunities to help make more equitable conditions for our kids."Carol D. Birks, Allentown School District Superintendent
"And as a result of that, the district did not have, prior to my arrival, the district did not have the resources to fund public education in the way that it should have. That just wasn't there."
Birks said it's thanks to people who care about the education system who made it happen.
"Fortunately, we've had advocates, our elected officials who have worked really diligently and have been advocates throughout the state," she said.
"Who really positioned the state to give the students in the Commonwealth their fair share of the funding that's needed to fund public education.
"And so as a result of that, Allentown has been given — not the entire fair share, it's a start — but we've received generous grants, like $39 million that we did not even expect this year.
"So as a result of these additional grant opportunities to help make more equitable conditions for our kids."
Birks said she wanted to thank her team for making the grant happen, and continuing to push for positive change in the school district.
