AC Update!

As you may know, an effort is under way to find funding for air conditioners throughout the John Jay Campus, in advance of the Methodist Hospital construction project. Here's the latest from our AC task force:

• Methodist has promised to contribute $10,000 for ACs, but it will cost $60,000 to buy units just for the currently un-air conditioned classrooms along 5th Street and the courtyard (nearest the construction). We're working with City Councilman Brad Lander's office to ask Methodist to substantially increase their offer.

• We will contact the Division of School Facilities (DSF) to try to get funding as a maintenance and repair project (paid by DSF) rather than as an improvement project (paid by our school).

• There's no official Department of Education mechanism to fund window ACs. However, there is a way to fund split systems, which could be an option for the cafeteria and gyms.

• We'll continue to pursue funding from Methodist and the DOE while also beginning to work on a media/social media campaign, should neither of those sources pan out by April or May.

Can you help?

• Millennium Brooklyn High School, in our building, has ACs in every classroom. If anyone has a contact at the school that could tell us how they funded their units, this could be helpful. If they funded their ACs through the DOE, it could lead us to an untapped funding source. If it was through their PTA, it could help us highlight the inequity that results from the DOE's lack of a public mechanism to fund window ACs.

• If anyone has contacts at any school that has dealt with a big construction project next door, like the one we're facing, that could also provide useful information. Please contact Kimberly Neuhaus with any information.