Denver schools to close early on Thursday due to lack of air conditioning

As temperatures push classrooms to sweltering levels, Denver Public Schools is closing or releasing students early Thursday at more than a dozen campuses still waiting for promised air conditioning upgrades.

Among them is Skinner Middle School, where seventh-grader Aubriella Barrios said the heat is unbearable.

“The air conditioning feels really good after an exhausting day,” she said after climbing into her mom’s car. “It’s just so hot and humid that you don’t even want to be there anymore. In this class, it’s like almost 35 kids in a classroom and they’re so cramped together.”

DPS announced 13 schools will cancel classes on Thursday, Aug. 21, including Skinner, while Johnson Elementary and Bryant Webster ECE-8 will dismiss students early. Buses will run on normal routes at the adjusted times, and both schools will serve lunch before dismissal. After-school programming is also canceled.

DPS spokesperson Scott Pribble said asbestos discovered at Skinner required remediation this summer.

“We knew due to the size of the building, due to the complexity of the installation, it was going to take us two summers to get this project completed,” Pribble said. The work is now expected to be finished in 2026.

Last fall, Denver voters approved a bond to fund air conditioning at 29 schools that don’t have it. Two projects have already been completed, but many families are questioning why campuses like Skinner are still waiting.

“Do you want our kids to pass out in class?” asked Aubriella’s mother, Desiree Barrios. “Where is our money going? Where is the taxpayers’ money going? I cannot stand being outside. I cannot even imagine how these kids feel. It’s like sitting in an oven.”

For parents like Barrios, patience is running thin.

“Make it make sense to me how they expect these children to succeed,” she said.