‘Excessive heat’: Many schools announce early out on first day

Eastern Iowa schools are preparing for extremely hot temperatures — announcing early releases and stocking water bottles on buses — as students start heading back to school Wednesday.

Cedar Rapids Community Schools will be dismissing middle and high school students at 10:50 a.m. and elementary school students at 11:50 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday. College Community and Linn-Mar school districts will have a three-hour early dismissal both days.

But Iowa City Community Schools are planning no early dismissals.

An excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service is in effect until Thursday evening for dangerously hot conditions, with the heat index reaching 105 to 110 degrees Wednesday, and potentially exceeding 100 degrees again Thursday.

College Community and Linn-Mar school districts said their energy providers likely will reduce energy usage in their buildings because of the extreme demand in the area.

Alliant Energy, for example, calls this the “interruptible program,” a voluntary agreement between it and some customers to reduce energy consumption during periods of extreme demand. In exchange, the customer receives a discount on pricing. This program has saved the College Community School District more than $1 million in its electric rate since 1991, according to a news release from the district.

In addition to the early out, Linn-Mar practices for activities and athletics will either be inside or held outside but before 8 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

In the Mount Vernon Community School District, outside activities will not be allowed between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. through Thursday, Superintendent Greg Batenhorst said.

Families should send water bottles with their children to school, and water bottles will be available on school buses, said Leisa Breitfelder, the shared superintendent of North Linn and Central City school districts.

“Luckily, our schools are air-conditioned,” Breitfelder said. “Our concern arises from a transportation issue with no air conditioning on our buses and any outdoor activities.”

The schools plan to “set time aside at the end of the day to make sure our students have time to fill up their water bottles before they take the school bus,” Breitfelder said.

In a message Tuesday to families, Iowa City Community School District Superintendent Matt Degner said the schools will resume as normally scheduled this week.

"We are grateful that all of our buildings are fully air-conditioned, which will allow us to avoid the need for any school-day schedule changes,“ Degner said. But, “We also cannot assume that every student has an air-conditioned home to return to after school.”

Elementary students in the Iowa City district will have indoor recess this week if the heat index is above 100 degrees. High school athletic teams will be allowed to practice only in the morning or after 6 p.m. Athletic practices for junior high students in the district are postponed until Monday.

“While our buildings will remain comfortable, we want to remind and encourage students, families, and staff to drink plenty of water,” Degner said in his email to families. “With temperatures above 100 degrees, heat-related illness can happen quickly, and staying hydrated is the best way to stay safe.”

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