for News and Tips Enter your email address Send Me Both NewslettersBaltimore school officials have asked the Board of Public Works to reconsider what they called a "punitive and unreasonable" decision to withhold $5 million in school construction money if the system doesn't install window air-conditioning units in 2,000 classrooms by August.House Speaker Michael E. Busch backed the school system, accusing the board majority — Gov. Larry Hogan and Comptroller Peter Franchot — of intruding on the powers of the General Assembly. He said lawmakers could review the board's role during next year's legislative session. In a letter dated Monday, acting school system Chief Executive Officer Tammy L. Turner said the position the board took last week was surprising because the city had submitted a "good faith plan" spelling out its intention to install air conditioning throughout its schools.Because of the board's action, she said, the system will be "forced to choose between much-needed fire safety, roofs, boilers, and window projects that are essential to the safety and security of our students, and the BPW's unprecedented mandate to install portable air-conditioning units within an unreasonable time frame."

Peter Hamm, a spokesman for Franchot, dismissed the letter."For five years, the comptroller has been asking the education bureaucracy in Baltimore City to step up and do the right thing by thousands of children who are sitting in unsafe and unhealthy classrooms. And all we've ever received have been promises followed by excuses," Hamm said.The three-member board voted 2-1 last week to withhold $5 million from Baltimore and $10 million from Baltimore County in an effort to force the two school systems to install portable air conditioning in classrooms that aren't currently cooled. The board set the start of the school year as its deadline.The systems, which include some of the oldest school buildings in the state, contend they have plans to install central air conditioning over the next few years. But Hogan and Franchot said it is imperative to add air conditioning now. The dispute came to a head last week during a contentious board meeting, at which Hogan, a Republican, and Franchot, a Democrat, castigated school officials from the two jurisdictions for not installing air conditioning more quickly.

Over the protests of Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, the governor and comptroller voted to "fence off" the money so that the city and county could not use it for other construction work.portable air conditioner parts listKopp, a Democrat, called the move "political theater" and said it was probably illegal for the board to force its priorities on local school systems.wall unit air conditioner how to installThe board's action prompted David Lever, the longtime executive director of the Interagency Committee on School Construction, or IAC, to submit his resignation in protest.central air conditioner unit has iceThe committee, an independent agency that recommends which school construction projects should be funded, has long followed a policy that makes portable air conditioners — as opposed to central air — ineligible for state funding.

Hogan and Franchot have sought to overturn that policy, while the General Assembly wrote it into law in this year's capital budget.In its letter, Baltimore schools said the cost of installing window air conditioners in 2,000 classrooms would come to $27 million. "The district does not have additional resources to fund such an aggressive program," Turner wrote.Hogan spokesman Matthew A. Clark called the letter "alarming," adding that the city schools had previously told the state that only about 400 classrooms lacked air conditioning, with a cost of $4 million to install them."It's obvious that more attention must to be paid to the matter given the scale of the problem," he said.Busch, an Arundel County Democrat, said in an interview Tuesday that the legislature is likely to address the board's powers when it convenes in January."I think there'll be some extensive study on defining the roles of the IAC and the Board of Public Works," he said.Busch said the board's role is to review and approve state contracts, not to make policy.

He said the board's action sets a "bad precedent" that could allow it to withhold money from school districts any time it disagrees with them on policy, including curriculum.Hamm, speaking for Franchot, brushed off Busch's criticism."The speaker is a very, very important man. He has a lot of important matters to work on. Tell him we've got this one covered," Hamm said.Office supplies are deductible expenses. //Getty Images The Internal Revenue Service allows businesses to deduct the price of "ordinary and necessary" business expenses from their taxable income. This allowance applies to various aspects of business expenses, including the purchase of inventory, the payment of employees and costs associated with business structures and equipment, including air conditioners. Necessary CircumstancesThe costs related to purchasing and installing air conditioning units can be deductible if you can show that the air conditioning unit is an ordinary and necessary expense for your business and that it is for your business rather than personal use.

For instance, if you install air conditioning units in an office building, this is an ordinary and necessary business expense. If you install an air conditioning unit in your home, this is not an ordinary and necessary business expense unless it is specifically and exclusively for a qualified home office. Such a home office must be a separate room of your house that you use primarily for business purposes. In such a situation, a window unit for that office could qualify for a deduction, while a central unit for the entire house could not. HardwareIn a qualifying situation, the cost of the air conditioning units is a deductible business expense. In addition, other hardware related to the air conditioning units is also deductible, such as metal supports to hold the units on the roof or the side of a building or any duct work or electric components the units require. LaborIf you hire a contractor to install the air conditioning units and related hardware, whatever you pay for that contractor's labor is also a business expense.