Repair program helps spruce up Maui school
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
KAHULUI, Maui — The Hawai'i 3R's program — repair, remodel and restore — is having an effect at public schools across the state. But the offer of cash for painting, electrical work and other small jobs on campus isn't as wildly popular as one might think.
Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser
Many school administrators are either unfamiliar with the grant program or think it will be a major hassle, said Yuki Lei Sugimura, Neighbor Island coordinator for the Hawai'i 3R's.
U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye visited JD Painting and Decorating crews working at Maui Waena Intermediate School in Kahului yesterday.
To publicize the program, Sugimura and U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye yesterday visited Maui Waena Intermediate School, one of 17 schools that received a total of $690,000 in the latest round of awards. The Kahului campus was given $50,000 — the maximum grant amount — to paint six portables, replace chain-link fencing and repair water-damaged ceiling panels in four classroom buildings.
The estimated value of the work was $135,000, but the school and the Hawai'i 3R's staff enlisted the help of JD Painting and Decorating, Valley Isle Fencing, the Arisumi Brothers construction company and the Maui Community Correctional Center Workline crew to provide some of the materials and labor.
For more information on applying for a Hawai'i 3R's school-repair grant, visit the Web site www.hawaii3rs.com.
That kind of "sweat equity" or donations to match the grant are required to participate in the Hawai'i 3R's program.
Get involved with school repairs
Maui Waena Principal Jamie Yap said it was remarkably easy to get businesses and community members to sign on to the project. The planning took only a few weeks and the work met all deadlines, he said.
The nonprofit Hawai'i 3R's program receives state and federal financing, as well as grant support from private foundations.
Inouye initiated the program in 2001 to help the state tackle the backlog of school repairs. The work focuses on smaller projects that need to get done but may not be critical to the health and safety of students. Typical projects involve painting, electrical upgrades and plumbing repairs.
