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Thursday, February 26, 2004
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Airconditioner outcry heats up ROXBY DOWNS…Recent 40+ temperatures have made travelling to school a real trial for Andamooka students studying at Roxby Downs Area School, as the school bus air conditioner struggles to cope. On hot days the air conditioner on the bus causes the radiator to overheat leaving students trapped in temperatures as high as 50 degrees. This problem echoes air conditioner woes inside the school, where the current cooling system is also struggling to cope. “It’s got to the point where people are taking their kids out of school on hot days,” teacher and bus driver Annette Speck told The Monitor last week. “Some teachers are even advising their students to stay home. “On the bus, parents have been pulling their kids off the bus instead of letting them travel in the heat. “The system is outdated and inadequate – considering the extreme conditions we get here in summer, it’s just not enough. “It’s been going on since the beginning of school, temperatures over the 40s, and that’s not healthy for the kids. “The temperature in the bus can reach over 50 degrees in the afternoons – we try and do the best we can but either we need more shelter for the bus or a better airconditioning system. “I love driving the bus, but I really feel sorry for the kids – especially the little ones. They really suffer. “The older kids are looking after the little ones, making sure they get water in the heat – we’ve even stopped and bought water for the kids because it’s been too hot and
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HOT STUFF...Roxby Downs Area School students Tamara Marsh, 15, Nathan Granger, 14, and Melissa Pidgeon, 14, find new ways to cool off before they travel on the school bus home to Andamooka. Students, staff and parents alike have voiced their concern over the bus air conditioner’s inability to cope with recent 40+ temperatures. drinks don’t take long to heat up in those kinds of temperatures once you’re on the bus.” RDAS acting principal Kath Macalister contacted parents in a prepared statement last week. “Numbers of parents have contacted me in respect of the bus and children travelling through the
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heat with no air conditioning,” she said. “Other parents have indicated they want their children to be at school as a major priority. “We share the view that children should be attending school but have been forced by the extreme temperatures and problems with the air-conditioning to leave this
to parents’ judgement. “As one school we are unable to affect any major review of the bus and the provision of adequate air conditioning.” Mrs Macalister is expected to raise this issue at the schools district conference this week. However, as a cool change
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sweeps through the region, Mrs Speck voiced her concerns that the issue would be pushed aside by the school’s governing bodies. “Temperatures like this aren’t unusual in February and we need to replace the air conditioner, the bus or the parking structures before next summer,” she said.
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Thursday, February 26, 2004 - Page 1