Classroom temperatures at Finneytown Secondary Campus climbed past 90 degrees this week, and dozens of upperclassmen decided they'd had enough — walking out of the building to protest the sweltering conditions. The district responded by canceling classes for Friday, though officials say that closure had already been planned before the walkout unfolded.
The protest began when student Andrew Nelsen got on the school intercom and directed his classmates to the lobby, according to FOX19. Nelsen said students wanted a heat day or at least a shortened school day, and classroom temperatures had reached 91 degrees before the walkout began. Dozens of upperclassmen ultimately left the building, chanting about the heat as they gathered outside.
Superintendent Anthony Smith told the station that student safety is a top priority for the district and that officials were monitoring the dangerous heat index throughout the day. The district set up cooling stations inside the building as temperatures rose, and Smith said the Friday closure had already been in the works before students staged their walkout.
A Heat Advisory Made It Worse
The walkout came as the National Weather Service kept a heat advisory in effect for the Cincinnati area through Friday, with heat indices forecast around 100 degrees across much of the region, according to the National Weather Service. That kind of heat isn't unprecedented for the district — un-air-conditioned classrooms have repeatedly disrupted instruction in Finneytown before, with the district forced to close or dismiss early during extreme heat in September 2018 and September 2019, per WLWT. District advocates at the time noted losing five days of school to extreme temperatures in a single month.
Finneytown isn't alone this week, either. Sweltering early-September weather forced multiple Ohio public school districts without air conditioning, including Independence Local Schools and Upper Sandusky Schools, to cancel classes or close uncooled buildings, according to WKYC 3News. That station reported classroom temperatures in Independence exceeded 85 degrees before noon, underscoring how widespread the vulnerability is among older Ohio school buildings caught in late-summer heat waves.
Relief Is Coming, Just Not Yet
The frustration is compounded by timing. Finneytown's secondary campus is set to move into a brand-new building in December, one that will include central air and several new features, per the Finneytown story reported by FOX19. Finneytown voters approved a $27.9 million bond issue back in November 2019 to fund new school facilities with modern air conditioning, backed by a 60% state funding match from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, according to WKRC's coverage at the time.
The district's master plan has been unfolding in phases for years; Phase I opened a new elementary school in 2022, and the Finneytown Local School District has said final demolition of the old secondary campus's 200 building, 300 building, and multipurpose gym is slated for winter or spring of 2027 to clear space for new athletic fields. Major site clearance and utility work for that project began in the summer of 2025, according to the district's own community updates.
Ohio's Rules Leave Gaps
Ohio state regulation offers only limited protection against classroom heat. Ohio Administrative Code Rule 4713-3-03 requires that school ventilation systems maintain suitable room temperatures, but state law lacks the kind of explicit numeric classroom heat caps that other states have adopted — New York, for comparison, caps allowable classroom temperatures at 88 degrees. For student athletes, the Ohio High School Athletic Association does have firmer guardrails: its guidelines require use of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature readings to evaluate heat safety and prohibit outdoor or non-air-conditioned indoor workouts when that measurement exceeds 89.8 degrees, according to WOWO.
Finneytown's walkout also fits into a broader pattern of student activism taking shape across Greater Cincinnati. Student walkouts during regular class hours have grown increasingly common in the region, with high schoolers at districts like Lakota East and Walnut Hills organizing similar demonstrations earlier this year, according to 91.7 WVXU. District leaders across the region have faced legal and disciplinary questions surrounding daytime walkouts as the tactic spreads.
Finneytown Secondary Campus serves roughly 500 to 670 students across grades 7 through 12. Hoodline previously reported on a nearby $7.2 million campus deal tied to Finneytown's ongoing local development. For now, students are left waiting out the final stretch of summer heat in buildings that were long ago slated for retirement, with real relief not expected until December.
