Philadelphia Public Schools To Close Early Thursday Due To 'Continuous Excessive Heat'
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia public schools will be closing early Thursday due to excessive heat.
The Philadelphia School District announced Wednesday that all public schools will be closing at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
"Early dismissal TOMORROW, August 30th at 1 p.m. due to forecasted excessive heat," the school district said.
As heat builds during the day, buildings are experiencing uncomfortable conditions. Because temperatures are remaining high into the evening, many buildings are not cooling overnight. Only 27 percent of the District's school buildings have central air conditioning.
It's something the district is working to get funding to fix, but with just one full day completed so far in this new school year, not every student is thrilled.
"How do you feel about just starting school and then only doing half days?! Boring," said Angel, a fourth grader in the city.
Some are questioning why Philadelphia schools opened up before the traditional post-Labor Day start date.
"I don't think the kids should have gone back to school until the beginning of September like they did last year because it's too hot out here," said one parent.
According to the school district spokesperson Lee Whack, the decision to start classes early this year was made in 2016 to provide more instructional time for students before getting into assessments.
"We just had to start sooner prepping and buying their school clothes and their school supplies so everything was in a rush," said parent, Jahira Ross.
