FULLERTON : Schools Set Up Fund for Air Conditioning

Parents made some progress this week in their effort to buy air-conditioning units for their children’s elementary schools.

The Fullerton School District board on Tuesday tentatively agreed to establish a foundation that will accept donations for the units.

The board agreed to revise an earlier decision prohibiting parents from raising money for air conditioning after more than 70 angry parents, some with their children in their arms, protested at Tuesday’s meeting.

During the Feb. 8 school board meeting, board members Robert C. Fisler, Elena Reyes-Jones and Rosamaria Gomez-Amaro said they were concerned that donations for air conditioners for particular schools would create an unequal situation.

They said some students would enjoy cool temperatures while others, in poorer areas, would continue to wilt in classrooms that can reach 102 degrees during the warm months.

Parents at three schools, Acacia Elementary, Laguna Road Elementary and Pacific Drive Elementary have been trying to raise money for air conditioning for the past year.

In response to parents, the board told Superintendent Duncan Johnson to develop a plan for a foundation that will accept donations for air conditioners intended for particular schools, as well as unrestricted donations that can be used for any school.

The foundation is a way to ensure that some effort is made to provide air conditioning to all of the district’s approximately 11,000 schoolchildren, Reyes-Jones said.

The board has traditionally accepted gifts such as computers, science kits, speaker systems and books intended for particular schools. However, officials say the district needs to clarify its policy on other gifts that alter a building, such as air conditioners, windows, carpets and roof repairs.

Reyes-Jones said that the board will probably be ready to take a vote on its policy within a month.