Posted on: Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Kailua High still without library
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KAILUA — Kailua High School students have been without a library since a heavy rainstorm flooded the room this summer during work to replace the roof, destroying several hundred books and forcing the near-gutting of the facility.
The school has not estimated the total damage to the second-floor library and its contents, said vice principal Wade Araki. But besides replacement books, the library needs all new ceiling tiles, insulation and flooring. Furniture and computers were removed before they were harmed, Araki said.
The contractor has agreed to pay for inside repairs.
Araki couldn't say when the facility will reopen. Once the library is physically ready, the state Department of Health must check the room's air quality and undamaged books must be vacuumed for dust and mold, he said.
Araki said the concrete roof had been leaking for several years. Patching had never solved the problem, he said, and in July a contractor was hired to replace the roof.
Unfortunately, the day the contractor removed the asbestos, it rained and water leaked into the library, said Araki. It also rained after the rest of the roofing material was removed, flooding the room and soaking the books despite plastic that had been placed over the project to protect the room.
"Because it's concrete, when water goes in there, it's like a swimming pool," Araki said, adding that ponding over the years is to blame for the leaks.
Rain also leaked into the school's office in July, but the damage there has been repaired, he said.
Araki said he did not know how much repairs will cost. The state Department of Accounting and General Services, which is responsible for repairs and construction in Hawai'i's schools, did not respond to requests for comment.
The reroofing is part of a major upgrade under way at Kailua High School. The work includes complete remodeling of 77 classrooms, relocation of the weight room and a new gym floor. Last year the Legislature earmarked $770,000 for school projects, but the school estimated it needed more than $9 million to meet all its needs.
State Rep. Cynthia Thielen, R-49th (Kane'ohe Bay-Kailua), said she's disturbed that the leak wasn't fixed sooner. After inspecting the facility recently, Thielen said the school is due for a new library. The facility was built in 1959 and meets only 61 percent of state standards outlined in the School Status and Improvement Report.
"Now is a perfect time to look at the library and do a renovation instead of just a patch and fix," Thielen said.
Araki said a proposal has been submitted to the principal, but an upgrade could cost $10 million, requiring a special allocation from the Legislature.
In the meantime, students are using state libraries in Kailua, Waimanalo and Kane'ohe and computers in other classrooms to conduct research projects, said marine science teacher Todd Hendricks. But students should be using outside libraries anyway, Hendricks said. Now they just have one less resource to use.
Hendricks has two computers with Internet access in his classroom and said there are others in the school, but he was not sure how many. The computer lab is not fully operational yet, after being renovated this summer, he said.
"It makes things harder for the kids," said Hendricks.
