I'm the father of two young BPS students.  The condition of BPS school buildings has been dangerous for decades for no justifiable reason.  I want 48,000 signatures - one for every BPS student affected by these sub-standard school buildings.  Among many physical problems, the lack of HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) in 90 out of 125 schools is the most prominent.  I have collected these relevant links, gave this presentation on the topic at a June '21 BPS ESSR Commission meeting (start at 1:41), shared the reasons I started this petition during an October '21 School Committee meeting (start at 1:35:30), wrote Let's invest in new HVAC systems for our schools (Dorchester Reporter 6/6/21), was featured in HVAC issue in Boston schools crises for many (Dorchester Reporter 11/4/21), and testified at the Boston City Council in May '22.  Every BPS school needs modern HVAC for 5 reasons each of which help address Racial Injustice and Inequality:

1. Heat - Classroom temperatures climb into the 80s and 90s in the beginning and end of the school year.  Children cannot learn under such conditions which are a health hazard.
2. Ventilation - The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the glaring need for ventilation in school buildings.  Open windows, especially in winter, is no plan.  It's letting decades of deferred maintenance call the shots.
3. Climate Change - Every year will only get hotter.  BPS buildings contribute to this problem by using fossil fuel heat.  This must be stopped by electrifying all school infrastructure immediately.  Just imagine solar panels and batteries being added to BPS school buildings with modern HVAC. The money going towards polluting energy now could instead be spent on actual education.
4. Sustainable Resilience - Every school serves the students in it but it also serves those students' community.  A BPS school with HVAC would be a viable place for summer learning programs and could serve as an effective community cooling center because it's close to the people who need it most.
5. The $$$ and Technology Exist - Boston has a AAA bond rating, a treasury overflowing with property taxes, $5B Federal ARPA money and billions more from the Infrastructure Bill.  BPS has $400M Federal ESSR money coming.  Heat pumps and Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems provide all-electric heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and they can be installed in old buildings relatively quickly.  The minute the work is done, it will start paying us back with healthy students and staff and clean air inside and outside schools.

No excuses.  Neglecting school buildings is neglecting thousands of students.  BPS schools need to be heated, cooled, and ventilated like it's the 21st century... because it is.  The need is tremendous, the technology exists along with the money.  Where's the will to do this?  The Build BPS report was released in 2016 and details most BPS schools have poor air quality or worse and many are in need of complete heating system replacement.  It is immoral for the vast majority of BPS students to suffer in broiling, stagnant 100+ year old dangerous buildings while the BPS administrators work in the BPS HQ Bolling Building which has won 13 architectural awards and had HVAC since opening in 2015.  BPS students deserve so much better.  #BPS_HVAC_Now

PS: If your child goes to BPS, there are three things you can do to help beyond signing and sharing:

1). Have them sign and share with their friends.  If they are too young, use their @bostonk12.org email (you can elect not to show their name when signing).

2) If you would like your family's portrait in front of your school to further this campaign, please fill out this Google Form.

3). Make a video with your children if possible standing outside your school citing its poor physical condition as listed in Build BPS.  For help finding the most relevant info, look at this short video guide.  Post the video to your social media with the petition link and #BPS_HVAC_Now.