Deer Park schools to dismiss early Monday due to heat

Deer Park Schools will dismiss early for the second time in a week Monday due to high temperatures, according to Superintendent Jay Phillips. Students at the Junior/Senior High School will be released at 12:40 p.m., and students at Holmes and Amity Elementary Schools will be released at 12:55 p.m. Phillips said they will "most likely" call for an early dismissal Tuesday, but he said he would make that decision Monday evening.  Phillips also called for an early dismissal Friday -- the first day of fall -- as temperatures soared above the average for this time of year. Phillips told WCPO on Friday that temperatures on the top floors of the schools can reach 100 degrees in the afternoon. The buildings were built in the 1900s, he said, so they retain heat and they do not have air conditioning. "We look at not just the heat but the humidity ... what we look at is, 'Is this really a conducive environment for learning for our kids and for our staff to be working in,'" Phillips said on Friday. Deer Park Schools also dismissed early in August due to heat.