SHAMOKIN, Pa. — With warm temperatures outside and no indoor air conditioning, students at Shamokin Area High School in Coal Township were dismissed at noon on Thursday.
Students from the nearby elementary school also got an early bus ride home.
"It's hot enough to where I can't concentrate," Aiden Pfeffer said.
Pfeffer and his siblings got picked up at the bus stop after their half day. They were allowed to wear shorts and t-shirts to school because the district has temporarily relaxed the dress code.
Ten days before the start of classes, the district announced:
"Due to lack of air conditioning in the elementary school and partial air conditioning in the high school, students could dress down and bring water bottles into classrooms.
For Anna Marie Moss, Aiden's mom, the announcement came too late.
"We didn't know anything till about a week before school that it was going to happen. I think they're more exhausted from the heat exhaustion, and then they feel sick by the time they come home."
The heat is also felt by brothers Joshua and Gabriel Jamieson. The two normally walk to school.
"Because I have asthma now, and it's not really good for me walking back and forth in this heat," said Joshua.
"You can barely focus. It's just very hard," Gabriel added.
With temperatures expected to hover around 90 on Friday, students in Shamokin Area will be dismissed early again. So far, the district has not announced any schedule changes for next week.
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