September 30, 2014 -- Well, here we go. The brand new school cannot be kept cool. The school board wrings their hands and tells us the children must have air conditioning. Had they built properly, this would not have been the case.

Before air conditioning was the norm, entire cities in California were built in very hot locations, and those hot locations do not include the beach cities.

Go to Claremont and see what it's like: large trees, properly built homes that are designed to accept breezes, cut down on heat (and these homes were built around 1900).

Did I mention trees?

Trees are nature’s air conditioners. Here in Santa Monica, a well placed tree will do an excellent job of keeping buildings cool because it is simply not that hot here.

I have two suggestions:

1. Voters - use this agonizingly predictable, stupid mistake to elect new school board members. I'm sorry, but we've not had an effective school board in decades.

2. Insist the school board plant mature trees in places that will shade the building during the hottest months. I used to converse with our former urban arborist frequently; he worked hard to provide trees for school grounds. The school board never wanted them. But air conditioning for one brand new school, when the rest of the schools have been a/c free since the 1930's and 1940's? Find another way.

The fact remains that here in Santa Monica, along the coast, we don't need air conditioning. We just need planners and architects with a few connected brain cells.

Let's use this debacle to send a message: let's elect some new school board members.

-Deborah Ford