Schools to open Five federal Head Start preschool programs will open Monday even though it has not yet been determined if the public school classrooms they need to use have to be treated for lead paint, the programs' director said.
amid lead fear
Head Start programs will begin
Which schools await results
Monday even though the rooms
need to be tested for leadBy B.J. Reyes
breyes@starbulletin.comRoland Gella, director of Oahu Head Start, says he also is awaiting word from at least four state agencies on whether two other Head Start facilities, determined to be hazardous to preschool kids, will need to be treated.
"We're going to open unless somebody tells us 'no,'" Gella said. "I already told them, 'Since you guys can't make up your mind, I'm going to open.'"
About 140 children are enrolled in the programs at the five schools, Gella said.
Garry Kemp, an administrator with the state Department of Human Services, which licenses preschool programs in Hawaii, said that until test results are conclusive, there is no reason Gella could not open.
"Until we get test results that show a hazard, there would be no grounds for us to take away the license," Kemp said.
Until the situation is resolved -- and even as a matter of general principle -- parents and teachers would be well advised to tell children not to eat peeling paint from walls.
Concerns over lead paint stem from an inspection of Head Start classrooms conducted earlier this year by DHS. Gella said he was notified earlier this summer of 21 Head Start programs using classrooms on state Department of Education campuses that needed to be tested for lead paint hazards.
Tests cost between $300 and $500 per classroom and corrective actions can run as high as $15,000, Gella said. The DHS has funds to reimburse preschool providers up to $300 for each test, but not for any corrective action, Kemp said.
However, because the classrooms are located in state schools, Gella said the DOE should bear some of the financial burden.
DOE officials said there are no state or federal laws that mandate regular inspections of schools for lead paint, but the agency conducts periodic checks on its own, most recently in 1998.
Because those results were available, Gella said, no new tests were required. He said only five schools -- Kaewai Elementary and Likelike School in Kalihi; Maunawili and Enchanted Lake elementary schools in Kailua; and Jefferson School in Waikiki -- have not yet provided the 1998 results. The Head Start programs to open Monday are in these five schools.
After the 1998 test results were reviewed, two schools -- Kahaluu and Waiahole elementary schools in Windward Oahu -- needed treatment for lead paint based on the DHS standards that preschools are held to, Gella said.
As yet, no action has been taken at either school while officials from the DOE, DHS and the Department of Health review the matter. Officials from the state Office of Community Services also are monitoring the situation.
Deborah Oyama, assistant superintendent in the DOE's Public Affairs Office, said agency safety managers determined that the classrooms did not pose a hazard by DOE standards.
"DHS does have this requirement of zero tolerance for lead paint," she said. "We don't have that same requirement, ours is zero risk."
She said zero risk would be a situation where "no child would be at risk of eating the chipped paint." She added that her agency is working with DHS, "but we haven't come to a resolution to what the next steps are between our agencies."
DHS requires that there cannot be lead paint cracking, peeling or flaking in areas that are accessible to preschool children, said Kemp, assistant administrator for the Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division.
Kemp said his agency is working with the others.
"DOE happens to be (Head Start's) landlord in this case, and it's really up to the preschool operator to work with their landlord to get these conditions resolved," he said. "I (DHS) have tried to help in (Gella's) case, as I would with anyone using a state facility, to explain what we require.
"I've met with some of the DOE folks. They're currently looking at what I've told them and they plan to get back to me on what they plan to do," he added. "My hope is that we'll be able to work together to work these things out and I think every indication I've had so far is that they're inclined to do that."
DOH officials are monitoring the situation because the agency would be consulted in an advisory role if lead paint treatment is necessary, said Gary Gill, deputy director of the Environmental Health Administration. OCS officials got involved when Gella asked for assistance from the governor in resolving the dispute.
Gella said parents have been notified if their children's schools have tested positive for lead paint.
Only one Head Start program, at Wheeler Elementary School, has been forced to close because of lead paint problems, Gella said.
Meanwhile, Gella said he also is awaiting test results from four other Head Start classrooms that are not on DOE campuses.
Those programs are located at Dole Playground Park, Waimanalo Community Services Center, Kauluwela Community Park and at 805 Kokea St. in Kalihi.
Gella said he is not trying to put children at risk by opening the schools as scheduled, but he hopes a decision can be made soon. "(The agencies) have to get concerned about this. It's not just a Head Start problem, it's the problem of the whole school."
Officials at Head Start, a federally funded provider of preschool programs, say they are awaiting test results for lead paint at nine facilities on Oahu. Those facilities and the number of students enrolled at each are: Awaiting lead paint test results
Source: Oahu Head Start
SCHOOL CITY ENROLLMENT Kaewai Elementary School Kalihi 40 Likelike School Kalihi 40 Maunawili Elementary School Kailua 20 Enchanted Lake Elementary School Kailua 20 Jefferson School Waikiki 20 Dole Park Honolulu 20 Waimanalo Community Services Center Waimanalo 20 Kauluwela Community Park Honolulu 20 805 Kokea St. Kalihi 20