Highs are expected to be in the upper 90s to near 100 for most of this week, with the heat index sometimes reaching at least 110 degrees.
Physical activity
The district has banned all outdoor practices between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. through Wednesday, said Bobby Badeaux, the district’s athletic director. That means that all football, cheerleading, band, dance team or other practices will be early in the morning, at night or in an air-conditioned environment.
“We’ve had an advisory in effect pretty much most of the summer from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” Badeaux said. “But it’s going to be extremely hot the next three days, so we expanded it to 6 p.m.”
As for physical education classes, Badeaux said teachers and coaches are urged to use their best judgment, keep students hydrated and bring students inside if they see them becoming weak or overheated.
“We always ask the teachers to be alert,” Badeaux said. “Our main concern is keeping the kids safe. We’ve had some training on how to prevent heat illnesses and take any action if something does happen.”
School buses
Most Lafayette Parish school buses do not have air conditioning. Damon Evans, the district’s transportation director, said about 55 buses for special education students are air-conditioned. The district’s fleet includes about 75 contract buses, although only some of those have an air conditioner. The remaining buses — about 170 — are owned by the school board and do not have air conditioners.
Evans said drivers have been instructed to “put down every single window” to allow air to flow into the buses.
“The more air that’s in the bus, the cooler it’s going to be,” Evans said.
Bus drivers will also be allowed to have water available for students, Evans said.
“The first month and a half of school, it is hot,” Evans said. “But it’s usually not quite this hot, so we are taking precautions.”
Evans said it is unusual for a regular education student to ride a special education bus, since the practice is only allowed in extreme circumstances, or an area where other transportation is not feasible.
Typically, high temperatures do not cause mechanical problems for buses, Evans said.
“The only thing it affects is the air conditioner. It usually takes about 20 minutes for the bus to cool down, so the buses that have air conditioners, they do have to run the bus for 15 or 20 minutes before just to get the AC system working,” he said.
Classrooms and Buildings
Air conditioners at all schools have been running non-stop since Friday, said Kyle Bordelon, the district’s director of planning and facilities.
“We’ll probably continue to do that until a full week after school starts,” Bordelon said.
Each school has an energy management system, and typically, school air conditioners are turned on a few hours before school starts, then shut down in the evenings after everyone is gone for the day. But because of this week’s extreme heat, Bordelon said officials will run the units continuously for the next few days.
“We’ve got some minor things here and there, but we’re taking care of problems as they come up,” he said. “We don’t expect any major issues the first day of school, but anytime you are dealing with mechanical equipment, there is always that possibility. We are doing the best we can and handling any problems as quickly as we can.”
