36 schools’ ceilings suspect

The state will inspect supports
to see if any could fail,
as in Kailua

CORRECTION Tuesday, February 1, 2005 » Thirty-six schools statewide "may" have the same classroom ceiling construction that collapsed at Kailua Intermediate School on Jan. 14. A Saturday story on Page A3 incorrectly said the 36 schools have the same ceiling construction. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

At least 36 Hawaii public schools feature the same type of aging ceiling construction that rained down on a Kailua classroom two weeks ago, Department of Education officials said yesterday.

There is no indication yet that any of those schools are unsafe, said Richard Soo of the department's Safety and Security Services Section.

But over the next four weeks crews from the Department of Accounting and General Services will be pulled off their regular maintenance work on government buildings to perform detailed visual inspections of all the schools, he said.

Those crews will narrow the list down to "suspect" schools, which will undergo even closer inspection by an outside consultant.

"Eventually the question that needs to be asked is, should all these schools have their ceilings changed?" Soo said.

The Department of Education is trying to avoid a repeat of the Jan. 14 collapse at Kailua Intermediate School, in which a teacher and several students were hurt.

The ceilings are constructed of sheets of wire mesh filled in with plaster and held to the roofs with metal ties. All of the schools were built between 50 and 60 years ago, when that type of construction was common, Soo said.

"The suspect is that the wire tie rusted or corroded at the area where it met the ceiling," Soo said.

The list includes 29 schools on Oahu, four on Maui and three on the Big Island. An Education Department office facility on Maui has the same type of ceiling.

None of the other islands had the ceilings, but the list could grow because DAGS won't finish assessing schools in the Central Oahu district until next week.

Inspections of the schools will begin on Monday, and some classes may be disrupted temporarily, said Education Department spokesman Greg Knudsen.

Crews that inspected other classrooms at Kailua Intermediate had to cut holes in ceilings to see their interiors. Ten additional rooms were found to be unsafe, and it will cost the state $25,000 per room to remove and repair the ceilings.

Schools to be inspected on 3 islands

Thirty-six schools have been found with the same type of ceiling as the one that collapsed on a class at Kailua Intermediate School. The survey is not complete, so the total could grow.

OAHU
Aina Haina Elementary, Castle High, Central Middle, Dole Middle, Farrington High, Hauula Elementary, Highlands Intermediate, Kaahumanu Elementary, Kahuku High and Intermediate, Kailua Elementary, Kailua High, Kaimuki High, Kalani High, Kaneohe Elementary, Kawananakoa Middle, Manoa Elementary, Maemae Elementary, McKinley High, Niu Valley Middle, Parker Elementary, Pearl City Elementary, Pearl City Highlands Elementary, Roosevelt High, Royal Elementary, Stevenson Middle, Waiahole Elementary, Waianae High, Waipahu Elementary, Washington Middle

BIG ISLAND
Hilo High, Hilo Intermediate, Hilo Union Elementary

MAUI
Baldwin High, Iao Intermediate, Lahainaluna High, Paia Elementary