Schools step up Concerns over potential lead paint hazards have prompted state officials to ask public school principals to document any peeling or chipping paint during regular walk-through inspections of their schools.
scrutiny of chipping,
peeling paint
Potentially dangerous paint will
be fixed on a high-priority basisBy B.J. Reyes
breyes@starbulletin.com"Should there be any peeling or chipping, the principal should note that, and we will report this to repair and maintenance (personnel) to place a high priority on it," said Al Suga, assistant superintendent in the Department of Education's Division of Administrative Services.
The decision comes in response to concerns raised by officials with Head Start, a federally funded provider of preschool programs.
"We tried to get a common definition of what constitutes the problem and what does it take to remedy it," Suga said. "I think we have come to an agreement that the peeling and chipping of the paint would be the main reason why there would be a concern."
Suga said the agreement was worked out yesterday with officials from DOE, including himself, Head Start and the Department of Human Services, the agency that licenses preschool programs in Hawaii.
Suga said DOE officials also will place a priority on determining what remedies need to be taken at two Head Start classrooms forced to close last week because of lead paint.
Last month, Oahu Head Start Director Roland Gella said DHS notified him that 21 of his preschool programs were in classrooms that needed to be tested for lead paint. The classrooms, all located in state schools, are used rent-free by Head Start. Because the classrooms are on DOE campuses, Gella had said he felt the state should bear some of the financial burden. He also called it contradictory for DHS to deem the facilities hazardous to preschool children while DOE considered the rooms safe for children only a few years older.
DOE officials had said the classrooms were safe by their standards. One official characterized the DOE's standard as "zero risk" vs. DHS's standard of "zero tolerance."
Gella said he is satisfied with the agreement worked out. "The (agencies) finally agreed to make some compromises," Gella said today. "They're going to go in and (repair) whatever damages there are and do tests and DOE promises to oversee everything."
Suga said yesterday's meeting helped bridge a communication gap that had existed between the agencies involved. "They think what we're trying to do is a reasonable attempt to mitigate the conditions. We finally were able to get together and talk through a lot of the misunderstanding. Partly it was a communication problem."
Principals will be notified this week of the request for increased scrutiny of paint, Suga said. Administrators overseeing the 21 original suspect classrooms are being asked to be especially vigilant.
Also this week, DOE officials will head out to Kahaluu and Waiahole elementary schools in Windward Oahu to determine what must be done to make the classrooms safe for preschool children. Head Start programs at those schools were shut down Friday because of lead paint, Gella said.
As far as who will pay, "We think that, within reason, we can resolve the costs as part of our total repair and maintenance allotment," Suga said. Gella had said treatments can run as high as $15,000, depending on the severity.
Head Start, DOE and DHS officials will meet on Sept. 19.
"Until this situation stabilizes, we're going to be meeting regularly -- probably once a month," Suga said.
Lead paint was widely used until 1978, when the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission prohibited using more than a trace amount. Lead poisoning can cause lower IQs, learning disabilities, seizures and death.