Hawaii schools consider 'heat days' during scorching year

At James Campbell High School on Oahu, where about 20 percent of the classrooms are air conditioned in a school serving more than 3,000 students, eleventh-grader Sydney May fanned herself with a vocabulary handout as a classmate rested his head on his desk in the 90-degree classroom.

The Hawaii Department of Education is planning to add air conditioning to a list of priority schools, but many facilities are more than 60 years old and would need new windows and electrical upgrades to handle the load, said Brent Suyama, a spokesman for the department.

The state's public schools utility bill costs more than $60 million per year, and installing air conditioning at all public schools would cost an estimated $1.7 billion while also driving up electricity costs, Suyama said.

At humidity levels of 60 percent, weather officials advise extreme caution when the temperature reaches 86 degrees, meaning prolonged exposure can cause heat stroke or heat cramps, Brenchley said.

Kids are especially susceptible to heat exhaustion because of their small size, and they can experience headaches, nausea and vomiting, said Paul Eakin, pediatric emergency doctor at Kapiolani Medical Center.

Back at Campbell, one teacher started a bottle recycling bin to raise money for fans for her classroom, May said.