Hotter Days, Higher Costs: The Cooling Crisis in America’s Classrooms

This report estimates the enormous and rising cost of keeping U.S. public school classrooms cool as climate change leads to more extreme heat during the school year. It finds that over $40 billion will be needed by 2025 just to install or upgrade air conditioning in more than 13,700 schools that didn’t need cooling systems in 1970. An additional $1.5 billion per year will be required to operate and maintain these systems. These costs are expected to grow as heatwaves become more frequent and intense. The report emphasizes that learning suffers in overheated classrooms, yet many large school districts—especially those with older buildings and fewer resources—are struggling to respond. In cities like Chicago and New York, over $1 billion each will be needed just for HVAC system upgrades. To cut costs, some districts have relied on window units, which offer poor ventilation and long-term efficiency. Importantly, the report highlights inequities: lower-income communities and communities of color face greater challenges both in exposure to extreme heat and in accessing the funding needed to make their schools safe and comfortable.