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As climate change leads to hotter days across the country, the cost of cooling public school buildings grows higher. New research estimates that more than 280 Maryland public schools that did not need air conditioning in 1970 could have to spend $818 million to install new heating and cooling systems by 2025 to keep classrooms at a safe temperature.
These schools may also have to spend an additional $32.8 million every year to operate and maintain the HVAC systems, affecting more than 900,000 students across the state, according to the report from the Center for Climate Integrity, an environmental advocacy group. And those costs are expected to increase as the climate continues to heat up.