Ceiling work goes statewide

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Education Writer

What began in January as an immediate inspection of ceilings at 36 schools after the collapse of a classroom ceiling at Kailua Intermediate School has expanded to every public school in the state.

The inspections were initially expected to take four weeks and involve three-dozen schools that were built around the same time as Kailua Intermediate. But the project grew to include surveys of all public schools as a precaution and will probably take four more weeks to complete, officials said Friday.

Schools that show signs of problems will receive more intensive structural inspections, and any clear danger will be addressed quickly, Department of Education spokeswoman Sandra Goya said.

"While doing the assessments, if any school needs immediate attention, of course they will attend to it," she said.

Inspectors have looked for water stains, cracks or other abnormalities that would indicate that a ceiling could be weak and dangerous.

The ceiling at Kailua Intermediate used suspended plaster, and the accident, which injured eight students, has been blamed on rusted and corroded support wires used to hold the ceiling up. The school was built about 50 years ago.

Central Middle School was constructed around the same time, but no serious problems have been found there, principal Melissa Trew said.

"I think the state responded pretty quickly to ensure that some of the older buildings like ours did get some quick attention after that happened in Kailua, and Central's also had some recent renovations," she said. "It's my understand that the building's in pretty good shape."

The repair work at Kailua Intermediate involved 11 classrooms and cost nearly $300,000, she said.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.