However, as a precaution, the ceilings at each school will be inspected starting Monday by the Department of Accounting and General Services.

Inspectors will look for water stains, cracks or other abnormalities, Richard Soo of the DOE's Safety and Security Services Section said yesterday.

But Soo emphasized that no school has reported any suspect ceilings since the Kailua Intermediate incident.

"At this point, none of the schools are at risk. They just have the similar type of ceiling construction," Soo said.

Eight students were injured when a portion of a plaster ceiling collapsed at Kailua Intermediate. Officials blamed the collapse on corroded or rusted tie wires used to hold up the ceilings.

Since then, the DOE has determined that 36 schools and a district office on Maui were built at about the same time as Kailua Intermediate 50 to 60 years ago and may have similar suspended plaster ceilings. Twenty-nine of the schools are on O'ahu, four are on Maui and three are on the Big Island. More could be found after the DOE completes a survey of O'ahu's Central District, said Soo.

The inspections are expected to take four weeks.

Once the inventory is completed, a consultant will be hired to do a comprehensive evaluation of the classrooms. If necessary, a contractor will be hired to do further inspections and then the repair work, he said.

Soo said he did not know how much it could cost to replace any defective ceilings, but said there is no money budgeted for additional repair work.

The Kailua Intermediate project is expected to cost $250,000, or about $25,000 per classroom, Soo said. The repair and replacement work began yesterday and is expected to take three weeks, he said.