Wa-Hi air conditioning project gets green light

School board supports funding from enrollment boost for limited Walla Walla High School air conditioning project

Temporary wall mounted units seen as short-term solution for academic and science buildings

The days of 90 degree temperatures in many of Walla Walla High School’s classrooms during warm days seek some reprieve following unanimous support by the school board to install window air conditioning units in the school’s Academic and Science buildings. The approximately $150,000 price tag for the project will be funded from one-time dollars generated from higher than anticipated enrollment during the 2015-2016 school year. Board members also considered installing new central air conditioning throughout the school with an estimated cost in excess of $1 million, and another $500,000 plus option featuring a split-system air conditioning approach. Both of these longer-term, permanent options exceed available resources.

“Our long-range plan is to modernize Walla Walla High School, but we must value and recognize today’s students will benefit greatly from this limited improvement,” said Superintendent Wade Smith. “Clearly this is not a perfect, nor long-term solution, but this short-term fix is a step in the right direction to providing our students an environment conducive to learning,”

The approved window-type units will be mounted above the classroom doors or in windows depending on the location. The necessary updates to the Walla Walla High School’s 53-year-old electrical system and the air conditioning unit installations will be completed this fall. The anticipated useful life of the wall units ranges from five to seven years.

“Although these units will not serve our long-term needs, they will serve to provide some level of reprieve for thousands of students over the next few years,” said School Board President Cindy Meyer.

Walla Walla Electric has also reported the project’s most expensive feature, additional power drops per classroom, can be re-purposed to support learning needs such as ceiling-mount projectors, voice lift technology, or additional needs as part of a future modernization.

“This project represents a good faith message to our students and staff that we value their well-being, student learning, and instruction,” Smith said. “This one-time cost is affordable and does not detract from other resources and needs currently allocated.”

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