Do students have an inalienable right to air-conditioned classrooms?

Well, no. But they do have some rights. They have the right to study in a safe and healthy environment conducive to learning. Sitting in a 90-plus degree classroom doesn't make the grade.

They have the right to protest such conditions, as Campbell High School students and faculty did on Tuesday in front of the Capitol.

And they have the right to expect results. Unfortunately, this is where reality intrudes.

Hot classrooms, especially in older schools built decades ago without air conditioning, have been bone of contention for years.

To be sure, the list of schools that want air conditioning is long, and there's not nearly enough money to go around. The annual $4 million appropriation for heat and noise mitigation won't begin to meet the demand, especially with the relentlessly rising cost of electricity.

It would help if the state Legislature, working with the Department of Education, makes taking care of the basics in our schools a top priority. That should include rooms with bearable temperatures.

Of course, air conditioning doesn't have to be the only answer. The DOE, for example, is in the middle of a pilot project in Kahuku, testing the latest in insulation, cool roofs, heat vents, ceiling fans and tinted glass in the school's portable classrooms.

And civic-minded citizens and businesses can help schools beat the heat, too. The state should aggressively encourage more public-private partnerships, which have worked well before.

Working together — the state, local businesses and residents alike — we can make a difference, one classroom at a time.

So contact your neighborhood school. The Campbell protest was a call to action. Let's answer it.