It was May of 2024, which meant MCAS testing at Lexington High School. Tenth graders were taking the test in designated rooms throughout campus, so other classes were reassigned to different classrooms. 

Rachel LeComte’s AP Economics class was moved out of the Main Building and assigned to the World Language building, one of the non-air conditioned buildings at LHS.

“It was blazing hot in there,” LeComte recalled. Turning on the fan made it too loud to teach, so she opted to open the window instead. “I’m up at the board, and I turn around because the kids are starting to scream.”

Hornets were swarming into the classroom, drawn in by a nest just above the window. LeComte, who had no prior knowledge of the infestation, spent the class block helping students who had been stung and shooing hornets out of the room. While a one-time occurrence, the incident points to some of the underlying issues that have begun to become more obvious as the building continues to age.

Heating and cooling systems 

The LHS Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system frequently malfunctions, regardless of what season it is. According to LHS principal Andrew Baker, only about 40% of the school has air conditioning at all, and because each class has up to 28 students, rooms can get stuffy. 

This becomes an issue in the summer and early fall, when “kids literally can’t breathe,” LeComte said. “It’s really hard to concentrate or pay attention when it’s that cold or that hot.” 

There are often issues with the heating as well; “even in the winter, it’ll be blowing super hot air that you literally open the windows to cool the room down, which is super inefficient from an energy standpoint,” LeComte explained. “We’re losing money and literally heating the outdoors.”

The issues with LHS’s HVAC systems make it difficult for students able to properly engage with work and learn to the best of their ability. Cameron Tabatabaie, a world history teacher, noted that in addition to compromising his own comfort, “it’s hard to get even the most eager of students to be paying attention when the temperature’s 20 degrees out of whack.”

According to LHS principal Andrew Baker, fixing the building’s current HVAC system is estimated to cost up to $100 million, and will likely not be fixed any time soon. 

Overcrowding

LHS’s spotty HVAC system isn’t the building’s only issue affecting students’ quality of learning. LHS is severely overcrowded, a problem that becomes highly visible during passing times in the narrow corridors, when hurried students form crushing crowds in the worst areas. 

“It’s very sobering when you have to stand in a line for potentially several minutes in between classes, not moving at all,” Christopher Yoo, a senior at LHS, said. 

Eamsley Chen, a freshman at LHS who earlier this year graduated from Diamond Middle School, described being overwhelmed by the stuffy conditions upon arriving at LHS. Unlike the middle schools, LHS doesn’t have enough lockers for students to store their belongings, so students carry their bags and coats around with them. “There are very tight hallways, and everyone has big backpacks they’re carrying around,” said Chen. “There are so many people, so the hallways are more congested, and it’s also very cold outside when I don’t want to go outside.”

Yoo and Chen noted that crowded hallways often cause students to be late to class. Teachers, many of whom move between multiple classrooms, report similar issues, with some struggling to make it on time. Tabatabaie admitted that he sometimes misses the bell himself, leading him to be more lenient when his students arrive late.

But it’s not just the hallways that are crowded. Classrooms are packed with up to 28 students at a time. According to Baker, classroom utilization at LHS is between 95% and 99%, meaning nearly every room is in use during each block of the school day. This leaves little room to add classes or new electives.

LeComte believes overcrowded classrooms also cause privacy issues. “Let’s say I have a student come up after class, and they’re having a health issue that’s personal and confidential that they need to let me know about. I have literally no place to talk to them,” she explained. “There’s no empty space that you could just grab to have that kind of privacy.” 

Rebecca Zhang, a senior, also highlighted the lack of spaces to study. “It’s hard to find a comfortable place to study where it feels like you can actually get work done,” she explained. “Right now, we only have the school library and ‘the commons,’ which you technically don’t even really have after lunch [when they remove the tables].” This makes it difficult for upperclassmen, who don’t have a designated study hall room, to find a spot to work during their free periods.

Zhang also said she was concerned by the lack of cafeteria space. LHS has two common areas, each with its own lunch lines and seating areas. She explained that waiting in the lunch lines can take about “about 15 minutes,” leaving students less time to eat and relax during LHS’s 30-minute lunch periods. “It’s also hard to find space to sit because a third of the school eats lunch at the same time, but there’s only really two commons and outdoors only if the weather is nice,” she added. 

Student morale

The current conditions of the LHS buildings are not imminently dangerous. Tabatabaie acknowledged that the facilities remain largely functional but noted that “the building is not inspiring. It’s so old it’s a detriment.”

These conditions have started to impact both student and teacher morale. LeComte observed that the environment has made students less efficient and productive.

“It sounds nitpicky, but the surroundings add up over time. I think the actual physical environment impacts your brain and your mood,” LeComte said. “If you’re in a better place, you’re just more inclined to want to learn.”

It’s widely recognized that the state of the LHS building is far from ideal for students, faculty, and staff. What remains less clear, however, is whether these conditions justify the expense of constructing a new facility.

“I’m not a taxpayer, and I understand the alternative perspective,” Tabatabaie said. “But it feels a little unbecoming of a town that is proud of its own prestige to not have spaces and a school that meet that identity and that legacy.”