HONOLULU (AP) — An Oahu elementary school teacher has been treated for dehydration and heat exhaustion which she says was caused by her hot classroom.
Jennifer Pimentel drove herself to the emergency room Tuesday after she started to feel dizzy and fatigued, Hawaii News Now reported (http://bit.ly/1ijjkWx).
“They told me that I was dehydrated,” she said. “They told me that I had heat exhaustion, and they told me I had issues that would lead up to possible heat stroke.”
She teaches at Ewa Beach Elementary, a school that is high on the Department of Education’s list for air conditioning but won’t be receiving relief this year.
She bought fans for the room, but they do little more than circulate hot air. She has been told she cannot accept a donated AC or bring in a portable air conditioner due to electrical issues.
“Parents are informing me that their children feel fatigued. They’re pale. They’re vomiting. That’s serious,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel said she worries that the high temperatures in her classroom are affecting kids as well as other staff members.
“It’s either going to be a staff member or it’s going to be a student that has some kind of major, major either illness or some kind of heat stroke or heat exhaustion,” she said.
The Department of Education is working to build heat abatement projects as fast as they are funded, according to a statement. In the meantime, they encourage staff and students to keep hydrated and report any illnesses to school administration.