"In addition to our focus on bringing innovation into the classroom as part of the Hawai'i Innovation Initiative, my administration is committed to providing our state's students with modern facilities that are conducive to learning," Lingle said in a news release issued today.

"These construction projects will provide Farrington High School and Pohakea Elementary with needed improvements."

At Farrington High, $275,000 will be used to design and construct a pavilion to supplement the school's existing cafeteria and address a shortage of dining space for students. The new pavilion will be adjacent to the present cafeteria and also serve as an instruction area when not being used for dining.

Design of the pavilion is scheduled to begin in February and be completed in October 2008. Construction is scheduled to begin in February 2009 and be completed in July 2009.

At Pohakea Elementary, $320,000 will be used for the design and construction of campus-wide air conditioning at Pohakea Elementary, which has an enrollment of about 525 students. This project will eliminate the problem of overheated classrooms that are open to noise by installing air conditioning in the school's five permanent and six portable buildings.

This allotment will be used to verify what electrical work is needed for the air-conditioning system to function properly without jeopardizing electrical service to the rest of the school campus. Lingle allocated $3,476,500 earlier this year to cover the remainder of the project's design and construction costs.