Posted on: Wednesday, March 26, 2003

Schools to get spring cleaning

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Students at Pope Elementary School in Waimanalo will get a surprise when they return from spring break: newly painted buildings.

Pope Elementary is one of four schools that received money through Hawai'i 3Rs, a nonprofit volunteer program, for campus improvements to be completed during spring break. The work would have cost the state around $470,000 for all four projects; Hawai'i 3Rs will get them done with about $200,000 in grants.

At Pope, volunteers will repaint the drab green buildings and seal surfaces of second-floor walkways, projects for which the school had requested money from the state more than a year ago.

"It's going to be a good change for the kids and for the school," said Principal Rodney Moriwake. "Hopefully everybody can take pride in our community."

Hawai'i 3Rs, established in 2001 by U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, finds money to support the repair and maintenance of Hawai'i's public schools. Including the projects this week, it has awarded 42 grants to 36 schools totaling more than $1 million.

The goal of the program is to help reduce the repair and maintenance backlog in Hawai'i public schools, which soared out of control in the 1990s with aging schools and falling allocations from the Legislature during the decade's economic downturn. The total today stands at about $450 million.

The projects Hawai'i 3Rs has financed would have cost the state about $3 million, said Capsun M. Poe, the group's executive assistant.

While the organization provides money for the projects, the schools must provide the manpower. At Pope Elementary, for example, volunteers from the Hawai'i Carpenters Union, Castle Foundation, Kailua High School, Pacific Resource Partnership and various Boy Scouts troops will help repaint the buildings Saturday.

"It's a school- and community-driven project," Poe said.

Kaimuki High School will get three buildings painted and windows replaced. The cafeteria and locker rooms at Kaiser High School will get new paint. And the parking lots at Ali'iolani Elementary School will be resurfaced.

All done by volunteers.

"This is a very efficient and effective way of doing (repairs)," said Kaimuki High Principal Dennis Manalili, who anticipates about 75 volunteers will help out Saturday. "Otherwise we'd have to wait and ... get prioritized. This way we can do the projects with volunteers."

Rep. Scott Nishimoto, D-21st (Kapahulu, Diamond Head), supported the project for Kaimuki High after seeing the conditions of the buildings a few months ago.

"The Hawai'i 3Rs program is a way for schools to get repairs pretty quickly," Nishimoto said. "What I like about it is that we're able to bring a lot of different groups in the community to help with the project. It gives them a stake in the renovations, and it builds community pride."

Hawai'i 3Rs receives state, federal and private money for its projects. Schools have to apply for the grant, emphasizing a commitment to the project and the need for the repairs.

The organization has awarded 27 grants on O'ahu, three on Maui, three on Kaua'i, two on the Big Island and one on Moloka'i.

"We look forward to working with these schools and having even more projects during the summer," said Ann-Maile Yamasaki, executive director of Hawai'i 3Rs.