Kealakehe Elementary teachers concerned about ongoing plumbing issues in third-grade building

Kealakehe Elementary teachers are raising concerns over suspected sewage leaks in a third grade special needs classroom and ongoing plumbing issues in a third-grade building, known as the E Building.

During a press conference held Friday afternoon by the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association, teachers from Kealakehe Elementary talked about recent and ongoing issues with plumbing in the E building, where only one of three bathrooms located upstairs in the building is currently functioning.

Third-grader teacher Jill Jacobs said there are two smaller bathrooms on the main floor, a girls bathroom with two stalls, and a boys bathroom with a stall and a urinal, which are still functioning.

Jacobs said these bathrooms serve keiki in 12 classrooms, with seven operational toilets for girls and two for the boys.

The school located in north Kailua-Kona has suffered from longstanding and severe plumbing issues that have plagued the campus since at least 2013, according to the union.

The most recent leak occurred on Monday afternoon. Rabayah Akhter said while she was in a meeting, the Hawaiiana teacher was in her classroom with the kids when a panel in the ceiling started spilling water, with some kids “freaking out” because they were getting splashed on.

When she got back to her classroom later that day, Akhter said she sent an urgent email and message over a walkie-talkie to the administration that the ceiling looked like it was going to collapse.

Akhter said a custodian later confirmed the leak was coming from the adult’s bathroom on the second floor.

“The ceiling the next day was all crumbled and soaking wet,” Akhter said, adding there was a gaping hole with a stench. Akhter described the smell as wet with a bit of fecal matter.

On Tuesday, Akhter said some of her students were complaining the whole day of being nauseous.

There are about seven to eight brown spots in the ceiling tiles with one hole the size of a silver dollar.

Teaching in that environment makes everything harder, Akhter said, adding the smell is an added distraction to the six fans and air purifier that are constantly running in the classroom.

Monday’s incident is the latest in an ongoing problem at Kealakehe Elementary. According to the union, three teachers have submitted repair and maintenance requests since Oct. 23 concerning the restrooms in the E building.

“Teachers have not received a response from the administration,” union officials stated in an email. “The hazardous conditions have worsened as the problem has been ignored.”

Krislyn Yano, communications specialist for the Hawai‘i State Department of Education, said the department is aware of the concerns being raised and takes any facility-related issue seriously.

“To clarify the classroom leak situation — the leak was of clear water and not sewage,” Yano wrote in an email Friday evening. “School administration was notified after the school day that there was a ceiling drip and had already initiated plans to address it before it evolved into a leak.”

Yano said the leak was fully cleaned and contained the following morning before students arrived, and a work order has been submitted for further investigation and repair.

“The school has not received any reports of student or staff illnesses related to this incident,” Yano said. “The school has been actively working with facilities and maintenance teams to address any issues as they arise, and continues to take all necessary steps to ensure facilities remain safe and operational for all students and staff.”

The union has requested an informal grievance meeting with the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, but it has not yet received one.

Jacobs, who has taught third grade at the school for 10 years, said during the press conference that this problem is not new, with the E Building having problems dating to the fall of 2020.

Jacobs explained that schools with maintenance issues are required to go through the state Department of Accounting and General Services, adding that the school has to wait for the department to outsource the work.

Sometimes, Jacobs said, all the bathrooms aren’t working in the third-grade building and kids have to go to a restroom in another building.

“Last year, a third-grade student had an accident because she couldn’t get to a bathroom,” Jacobs said.

With the buildings at the school 50 to 55 years old, Jacobs said all the plumbing needs to be replaced.