PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – School starts again in Pittsburgh the week after, and the school district is facing two big problems – the heat and a possible consolidation plan.

On Thursday, the school principal visited the classrooms while the children were at school. KDKA spoke to him about the most important issues that concern parents.

Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Walters welcomed the Class of 2037 on the first day of kindergarten at Spring Hill Elementary School.

It was a day that also brought more heat to the region, causing a warmup in the district’s more than three dozen schools that still lacked air conditioning.

In the short term, they have halved the number of teaching days and intend to switch to distance learning.

In the long term, five more buildings are to be equipped with air conditioning by the end of the year, but Walters did not comment on a longer period of time.

“Two of them are finished now and three will be finished in the spring. However, the price tag was over $30 million. So you can see that air conditioning buildings that are on average 90 years old is not a cheap or cost-effective investment,” Walters said.

However, two of those schools may be on the verge of closure as district consultants recommend closing 16 schools in a consolidation plan announced two weeks ago. Walters declined to comment. A spokesperson told KDKA that the projects were in the works long before the recommendations, which are not yet final.

Walters said they’re already getting a lot of feedback on it.

“Whatever the decision, we will proceed gradually over time,” Walters said.

They expect to receive the final decision and approval early next year.

“We have to make decisions that may not be popular, but we do them in the best interests of our students,” Walters said.

He said this was the case on both fronts.

For the kindergarten children, it was an easy decision to keep the school open.

“As little kids, they probably had their school bags on for three days waiting for this day, and I didn’t want to ruin their day,” Walters said.