ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For weeks now, KOB 4 has been reporting on the ever-growing problem of hot classrooms at Albuquerque Public Schools.

Since the first day of school, we’ve been getting emails and phone calls about students and teachers spending the day in the heat while inside. The most recent school we’re hearing about is Rio Grande High School.

Now, the Albuquerque Teacher Federation is looking to make some permanent changes. The union had an important meeting Tuesday night about how to get the ball rolling on some permanent changes. 

Ellen Bernstein, the president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, says no matter when they head back to the classrooms, schools need to have upgraded HVAC systems to create a comfortable teaching and learning environment.

A week ago, they created an anonymous survey for teachers to add their own testimonials about hot classrooms. She says they already have around 100 responses. 

In a meeting Tuesday night, the teachers union went over a plan to distribute the surveys statewide, and how to bring these issues up to lawmakers. 

“We need to think about creative ideas so it’s cost-effective, we need to think about green energy like solar and wind. We really need to make the best learning conditions possible for every single kid in the state, and that’s why I want to make it a legislative conversation,” said Bernstein. 

Aside from the physical toll that comes with teaching in hot conditions, Bernstein says there’s also a lot of research on how it negatively affects kids. 

According to Bernstein, children in hot classrooms don’t learn as well, they don’t take tests as their best, and it impacts their overall learning experience. 

Tuesday night was just the start of a long journey to push for financial support from lawmakers. On Sept. 3, they are going to hold another meeting with union reps across the state to discuss it further. 

Then, they plan to start contacting lawmakers who may be interested in supporting a bill to address the issue. 

“We really need to care as much as we care about getting them books, as much as we care about attendance, as much as we care about everything. We have to care about modernizing our school buildings for comfortable learning no matter what the season is,” Bernstein said. 

Another big part of this conversation is the district and their role. 

We asked to sit down with the APS superintendent for an interview, and the district was not able to arrange it. But we did get some stats to see just how widespread this issue is. 

According to an APS spokesperson, in the past two years APS has spent around $26.6 million in upgrades, including 85 projects at various schools. They also have 29,858 cooling units and more than 20,000 of them are evaporative cooling.

The district says when they are at their best, it can’t cool more than 20 degrees of the outside temperature. 

“Every time someone reports a broken air conditioner or a non-working swamp cooler, that they are responsive, and they are responsive, and they are getting out there. But 70% of Albuquerque schools have swamp coolers. If it’s 95, and I get it down to 80, and then I put 25 to 30 kids in there it doesn’t matter because the swamp cooler is not going to do the job, it’s still going to be too hot,” said Bernstein. 

Bernstein says this is why it’s time to get creative and think outside the box when it comes to upgrading the cooling system at schools. 

She says this could mean using renewable energy and looking into more modern and cost-effective ways to cool classrooms and schools down. 

We did ask district officials about the union’s plans to get lawmakers involved and did not hear back on that question.