Holy Family teacher requests air conditioners to abate City noise

A teacher at Holy Family School in East Price Hill is requesting that the City provide air conditioners to help abate a chronic noise problem.

In a communication to Councilmember Chris Monzel, the teacher says she has worked at the school for nine years, and that every May, August, and September the City has worked on the surrounding streets.

"As you can well imagine, the student population as well as the parents and guardians of the students challenge all of us who teach here, on a daily basis," she says. "We are teaching in a neighborhood where education is not typically valued."

Because the building is old and the school's funds are limited, the school must keep the windows open during those months.

The noise makes it impossible to teach.

"We are a poor inner-city school so we cannot afford air conditioning and yet the city always digs holes, drills and does other noise-making work making it extremely difficult for us to teach," she says. "Today it is 93 degrees and yet the city employees are again drilling to fix a water hole right in front of our school."

She says she has contacted the City and asked them to drill either during lunch or after 2 PM dismissal, but they "refuse to assist" the school.

"I cannot begin to understand how the City can rob students of learning time," she says.

The teacher says that she plans on contacting the local media unless the City either stops the noise or provides air conditioning for the four classrooms in the front of the school.

"I truly believe that City officials such as you would want the children of Price Hill to be successful students," she says.

A report by City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr is due before council on October 16.

Holy Family School has an enrollment of 165 students in grades K-8.

Photo credit: Holy Family School