By Shannon Bickert
The Rockville Centre Board of Education must decide whether to spend up to $1 million on a new central air-conditioning system in the South Side High School auditorium after being without cooling since the end of last school year.
Students and community members raised concerns at the district’s Oct. 3 school board meeting about the lack of air conditioning in South Side’s auditorium, which has affected the fall play production. Students and parents filled the seats, arguing that a new air-conditioning unit is necessary for the drama department.
The current HVAC system is more than 25 years old and cannot be repaired, according to district officials. The board considered temporary installations such as wall units, which would cost roughly $250,000. A new system would take two to five months to manufacture and install and could cost between $400,000 to $1 million to replace.
The board does not plan to use reserve funds to help pay for a new unit, as doing so could cause financial strain, officials said. District Superintendent Matthew Gaven said the board is concerned that it would be unable to cover emergency costs if the money were spent on an air-conditioning unit.
“I’m disappointed that it sounds like there’s some money in the emergency fund, but we’re afraid we may need to keep it in case of other priorities,” Peter Shaw, a parent involved in the drama club, said. “That also means that this is not a priority.”
The board stated that it has reached out to local and state government representatives to try and raise money for a new system but had not yet received a response as of press time.
The Rockville Centre Sponsors for the Arts, a non-profit organization designed to raise scholarship money for students in the arts, created an 11-page petition stressing the importance of installing a new system.
“The families and students of the arts feel that they deserve more,” Debbie Cuevas, the president of the Rockville Centre Sponsors for the Arts, said. “Performing on stage is hard. Performing on the stage where the temperature is unbearable is even harder. Performing under the uncertainty of where you will perform is even worse.”
“The existing unit does circulate air. It definitely does not cool the air,” Gaven said. “Meaning that during the warmer weather, the space can quickly become uncomfortable for both performers and for audiences.”
Drama students spend up to 20 hours a week in the auditorium between daily rehearsals, drama production classes and Saturday crew calls.
“The space is stuffy, and the audience isn’t even there yet,” Charlotte Rockford, a senior involved in the drama department, said. “This isn’t just about comfort — it’s about safety, equity and respect for the teachers, students and staff who invest countless hours creating high quality performances.”
Relocating rehearsals to South Side Middle School was discussed as a possible option for the drama club. Students and parents opposed the idea, saying they think the arts have been neglected at the high school.
“It means something to perform on the high school stage,” Reagan Zelles, a senior, said. “The facilities here reflect our level of talent and professionalism.”
The middle school is 1.7 miles from the high school, meaning that students would need to find transportation to practice.
“If they have to bus, if they have to get past barriers, they’re not going to invest their time in this,” Shaw said.
“At a fifth-grade graduation in June, the [air] wasn’t working and a student fainted on the bleachers while under the lights,” Rockford said. “It’s three months later, and we still have no immediate solution.”
The heat in the late spring could also affect end-of-school-year events and their locations. The gymnasium cannot host drama and other events, as there is no air conditioning there.
