Quake-damaged Big Island schools struggle to reopen
All but two Big Island public schools were to reopen today.
Honokaa Elementary School and Waikoloa Elementary School were to remain closed.
Honokaa's continued closure is a precautionary measure, West Hawaii Area Complex Superintendent Art Souza said. There's concern about structural damage to beams, ceilings and joints in portable classrooms as well as structural cracks in the cement.
SCHOOLS CLOSED
Public schools on the Big Island remain closed today:
» Honokaa Elementary School
» Waikoloa Elementary School
Public schools on Big Island that were closed and are open today are:
» Kohala Elementary School
» Kohala Middle School
» Kohala High School
» Kealekehe Elementary School
» Honokaa High and Intermediate School
Public charter schools --Waimea Middle School and Kanu O Ka 'Aina -- that were also closed will be open today.
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Structural engineers are expected to inspect the school at 10 a.m. today.
At Waikoloa Elementary, about 20 of 26 classrooms have varying degrees of damage, from fallen ceiling tiles to exposed beams.
The entire fourth grade in the second floor of the I building is off limits until dangling ceiling lights are secured, Souza said.
Repairs are likely to reach $2 million, he said.
A DOE cleaning team was working with heavy-duty dry vacuum cleaners yesterday. Some teachers and parents worked wiping down desks on Monday. Yesterday the teams were laboriously wiping down every item in the rooms.
School officials hope to reopen Waikoloa Elementary by Monday. Meanwhile, "We hope to get help from the community for off-campus sites for students," he said.
Teams of engineers conducted inspections of other schools yesterday to determine whether buildings were structurally sound and whether classes would resume today.
Kevin Nakamoto, project manager of SSFM International Inc., looked at buildings at Kohala Elementary School and Kohala Middle School yesterday.
Building X at Kohala Elementary was declared a "restricted use" building after inspectors saw damage to the roof and the rafters. Cracks were observed on walls. The company expected to continue inspections of Kohala Middle School today.
"The buildings that have been here since the 1930s have done very well," said Eleanor Laszlo, Kohala Elementary's principal.
About 110 students in Building X will be moved to other classrooms. Other buildings on campus sustained cracks in walls and corners, and an elevator shaft in a two-story building shifted away from the building, Laszlo said.
At Kohala Middle School, Principal Barbara Volhein said it was unbelievable how the structure, built in 1934, appeared to be unscathed. Structurally, the school is fine, Volhein said.
Christopher Michaelis, vice president of Honokaa High & Intermediate School, said the building that houses middle school students was directly affected by the tremors. About 120 students will be relocated to other classrooms of the high school campus.
Reporter Diana Leone contributed to this story.