Several schools across Maine released students early today, as officials say the prolonged heat wave made classrooms unsafe for some students and staff.
Heather Manchester is the superintendent of MSAD 17 in Oxford County, which ended classes two hours early.
She says that many classrooms in the district's elementary schools don't have air conditioning. And despite efforts to cool students down by offering them popsicles, a number of people came down with headaches, stomachaches and elevated blood pressure on Thursday afternoon.
"And it really felt like it was time that we needed to give people a break from the heat. We just don't have enough air-conditioned spaces to cycle kids in and out of, in some of our elementary schools," Manchester says.
Manchester says that the district needs to consider the effects of climate change as it plans for the future of its school facilities.
"So I think there's a lot of things we're thinking about, in terms of adapting to this new normal that we're experiencing," she says.
Districts in Buxton, Topsham and Turner also closed early.
