Air conditioning for essential workers

High School District 214 employs year-round maintenance and janitorial essential workers. These men and women must work indoors without air-conditioning. When the weather is 9O-plus degrees, as it has been the last two weeks, many of these workers have felt over-exhausted and sick because of the heat. They don't just sweep floors -- they paint, lift desks and heavy gym equipment and, most importantly, they scrub everything over and over again making things pristine for the returning students and teachers.

They are responsible for keeping the high schools COVID-19 free. They must give 100% if not more; yet, how much can they do when they are overheated and sweating from the heat.

District 214 has an ample budget and government COVID-19 money. Why, then, are they trying to save money on the backs of these essential workers?

It is counter-productive: Their job at this time is to make and keep the high schools COVID-19 free. Can we expect workers that are overheated and exhausted to be 100% efficient? And, because they must be 100% efficient in order to keep COVID-19 at bay in our schools, they should have a comfortable environment in which to work.

It is not only sensible and humane; it is crucial in order to successfully combat COVID-19 In our schools.

Lauren Sayre

Arlington Heights