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As the Detroit school district marks the end of its first month of the 2026-27 school year, more than half of its schools now have full air conditioning throughout the building, according to Superintendent Nikolai Vitti.
Vitti gave an update on Detroit Public Schools Community District’s ongoing project to modernize its HVAC systems at Tuesday’s board meeting. The investment is part of the district’s $700 million facility master plan, which was implemented in 2022. The plan includes rebuilding, reopening, or demolishing certain schools. DPSCD received the money for the project through one-time federal COVID relief funding. In 2018, about 34% of schools had full air conditioning, Vitti said.
By the 2028-29 school year, DPSCD expects 81% of its buildings to have full air conditioning and 11% to have partial air conditioning, where air is only available in certain rooms, Vitti said.
“After the FMP investment in the 2028-29 school year, we’ll go from 19% of schools having no A/C to only 8% of schools having no A/C,” he said.
The progress report comes after DPSCD issued two consecutive early dismissals this month for students and staff as temperatures reached 90 degrees or higher.
An early dismissal at noon is ordered when temperatures soar to 85 degrees or hotter, Vitti said. This is due to the bus routes coordinated among schools and for the benefit of some students who might be in schools with little or no air conditioning. Vitti said that after the pandemic, fans were placed in all school buildings when the majority of schools lacked air conditioning.
Extreme heat in the classroom can contribute to dehydration and affect a child’s attention, memory, decision-making skills, and ability to participate fully in learning, according to a 2026 report from the American Psychological Association. Educators and school staff may experience symptoms like fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and reduced capacity to support students effectively.
“The changes moving forward … industrial fans will be placed in all buildings that only have partial or no A/C,” he said Tuesday. “We’ll make sure that every classroom has fans. They will not have to request it. We are delivering them starting this week, and it’ll be an ongoing delivery based on supply and demand of receiving those fans.”
Additionally, portable air conditioning units will be delivered to certain schools that have the proper electrical infrastructure, Vitti said.
By spring or fall 2027, the district is considering allowing schools with full-building air conditioning to remain open on hot days, even when schools without air have a half-day, Vitti said.
“The challenge of implementing that now is that the bus routes are not coordinated to focus on A/C schools and non-A/C schools,” he said. “There’s the challenge of siblings (attending different schools). There’s also the challenge of staff who have children in schools that don’t have full air and childcare issues. This is something that has to be negotiated and discussed with DFT (Detroit Federation of Teachers).”
Joe Janosik, a social studies teacher at Osborn High School, said during public comment that even with a portable air conditioner and three pedestal fans in his classroom, he’s still not getting relief from the heat.
“I left them on overnight last night, and had the window cracked open,” he said. “I walked in my room at 7:15 a.m., it was 78 degrees. I know you guys have talked about the initiatives with bringing the air conditioning inside all of the schools, but what I ask is have it done faster.”
Millions still needed to install air conditioning throughout district
While DPSCD is expecting a majority of its schools to have air conditioning within two years, 11 schools will still have partial air, and eight schools will not receive air conditioning at all because they’re not covered under the facility master plan, Vitti said. Providing full air to those 19 schools will cost the district an additional $245 million.
The superintendent said the board will have its annual budget amendment meeting in the fall or early winter to discuss allocating general funds for facility needs.
“There has been some conversations already of possibly allocating more one-time money to address this gap and other challenges in facilities like safety or ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) issues,” Vitti said.
Board member Monique Bryant suggested that when the district issues a half-day of school, notifications should be sent out 24 to 48 hours in advance. She said getting a robocall the night before is hard because parents will have to scramble to find childcare for the next day. As a parent in the district, Bryant also noted that the robocalls are inconsistent and are delivered at different times.
“Most of those robocalls come out at 9 p.m. That’s a little late for parents to have to prepare for childcare and work,” she said.
The district tries to send out notifications for weather-related school closures the night before, Vitti said. However, when schools close for a building issue, notifications might be sent out in the morning.
“The evening before is the longest I typically wait to make a decision on a half-day or a (full-day) closure based on the temperature,” Vitti said. “I wouldn’t put us in a corner to say it has to be 24 or 48 hours because the weather can change.”
Micah Walker is a reporter for BridgeDetroit. You can reach her at mwalker@bridgedetroit.org.
