Older schools' roofs to be checked
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KAILUA — Five days after part of a classroom ceiling crashed down on a group of science students, Kailua Intermediate School will reopen today with a plan to move hundreds of children to new classrooms and conduct monthly inspections of the school's ceilings.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Officials also announced yesterday that the Department of Education and Department of Accounting and General Services will team to find similar potential problems at schools throughout the state and repair them.
Kailua Intermediate School teacher Katie Vaughan removed books and other materials from the Building C classroom where part of the ceiling collapsed on her and some of her students last week. Students are resuming classes today in other buildings on campus.
"This will be a cooperative effort," said Richard Soo, DOE fire safety manager.
The next step is for DAGS to identify schools that were built around the same time as Kailua Intermediate — 1954 — and find those with roof problems, including leaks, which could have contributed to the corrosion and resulting ceiling collapse at Kailua.
It is not known when the inspections will begin, Soo said.
The DOE will then rank the schools based on need and set up regular inspections and schedule repairs, Soo said.
"The monitoring process will continue and if similar ceilings become suspect, the ceiling stabilization measures would have to take place," he said.
Roof work makes up a significant part of an estimated $460 million in backlogged repair and maintenance projects at schools statewide. The entire list runs 30 pages and hundreds of projects, of which 126 involve reroofing, roof replacement or repairs.
Ceiling and roof repairs for Kailua Intermediate were not on the list but must be addressed immediately using repair and maintenance funds, said Greg Knudsen, DOE spokesman. That could mean that some projects on the list will have to be moved back even farther, he said.
After the initial problem at Kailua Intermediate, it was determined that all 10 classrooms in the building — Building C — were unsafe and needed new ceilings.
Replacing the ceilings will cost an estimated $250,000, said Soo.
The ceiling collapse at Kailua Intermediate and the November discovery of asbestos in paint chips and dust at King Intermediate in Kane'ohe have focused new attention on building safety and on the repairs and maintenance of schools.
One result may be changes in the way annual school inspections are carried out, Soo said. The inspections could become more stringent and the DOE might consider bringing in certified people to perform inspections, he said.
In the past, inspections have been conducted by a team of community volunteers and involved a walk-through of the campus to find flaws, needed repairs or other problems. That's why Kailua Intermediate could receive a "satisfactory" rating in 2003 for the interior and exterior of its buildings, said Soo.
Eight students and a science teacher were treated for minor injuries at Castle Medical Center when about three-quarters of the ceiling in Room 219 fell shortly after noon on Friday. No one was exposed to hazardous material, officials said.
Katie Vaughan, the earth science teacher in Room 219, was removing equipment from her classroom yesterday in preparation for a move to other rooms.
Vaughan, 26, said she has put the incident behind her. She acknowledges some challenges, though. "I'm worried about the kids being OK about being at school," she said. "They're going to be stressed and worried."
About 300 of the 900 students attending Kailua Intermediate will have to change classrooms, said principal Suzanne Mulcahy.
The ceiling work should be done and Building C reopened in two to three weeks, Soo said.
The Kailua incident came as the DOE is assuming responsibility for repairs and maintenance from DAGS under an education reform act. The transfer will be completed this summer.
State legislators see that as an opportunity.
Rep. Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Education Committee, said the DOE is more in tune with the needs of its facilities. "Hopefully, when schools begin to control their own resources, this sort of thing will get reduced," said Takumi, D-36th (Pearl City, Palisades).
Sen. Norman Sakamoto, chairman of the Senate Education & Military Affairs Committee, said once teachers, principals, parents and custodians take ownership of their facilities, they are more likely to improve. Sakamoto, D-15th (Waimalu, Airport, Salt Lake), said he will continue to support money for repair and maintenance.
Rachel Gabuat, whose daughter received four stitches for a cut on the chin received during the ceiling collapse, said she is disappointed in the upkeep of the schools and believes that Kailua Intermediate is not safe.
She noted that the roof of Building C blew off in a storm last year. Her daughter was nearly hit by the flying debris, Gabuat said, adding that many parents are upset.
"We're all concerned," she said. "We all want the decay of the entire system acknowledged."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
