Most isle schools pass
facility inspections
More than 99 percent of the state's public schools passed their facilities inspections last year, with only two out of 255 campuses rated unacceptable, according to a report released yesterday.
The two schools that failed are Kalihi-Waena Elementary and Aliamanu Elementary. The inspections were conducted last fall, and since then Kalihi-Waena has fixed most of its problems, Assistant Superintendent Rae Loui said. The school is scheduled for a total classroom renovation project this school year.
Aliamanu Elementary's buildings suffer from structural damage due to ground settling. Renovations had been put off for lack of money, but have since been funded.
The inspections were conducted by 255 teams made up of 1,500 volunteers, with support from school staff. They rated schools on six categories: grounds, building exteriors, building interiors, furniture/ equipment, safety, and maintenance/sanitation.
Thirty-four schools received perfect overall scores, 94 were rated very good, 125 were acceptable and two unacceptable. Altogether, 50 percent of the schools, or 128, were rated very good or higher, an increase of 14 schools over the previous year.
Follow-up meetings to develop improvement plans were held with the principals of the 20 schools that had an unacceptable rating in any single category.
In the new round of inspections this fall, the Department of Education will add an additional category specifically for bathrooms, which have been a source of public concern.
