First $1M in insurance is paid for UH Lab School fire damage

The University of Hawaii received its first insurance payment of $1 million to cover damage from a devastating fire at the UH Lab School last month, officials told the Board of Regents yesterday.

The state Department of Accounting and General Services also paid $250,000, the cost of the deductible for the policy from AIG Hawaii, said Kathleen Cutshaw, the acting vice chancellor for administration at UH-Manoa.

An insurance adjuster is still trying to figure out how much it will cost to build a similar wooden building, Cutshaw said.

However, the university does not want to put up another wooden structure and is looking at a new building that could replace some of the other old wooden buildings at the school.

A new building will require additional money from the Legislature and support from the regents to include it in next year's budget request, Cutshaw said.

Classes are scheduled to start in August, at the same time UH-Manoa resumes. The Lab School is a charter school run by the College of Education at UH-Manoa.

The university is looking at renting nearby space, perhaps at the YMCA, to temporarily replace the classrooms lost to the fire. New portable classrooms will also be rented or purchased, but those are not expected to arrive until November.

People who worked in offices at the burned building are now working from home or in shared office space, Cutshaw said.

The university also is trying to arrange for disposal of the rubble from the fire, which is contaminated with lead and must be shipped out of state.