Kealakehe Elementary School’s special needs classroom gets much needed plumbing repair

Six weeks after the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association held a press conference highlighting concerns about plumbing issues in a special needs classroom at Kealakehe Elementary School in West Hawai‘i, the repairs were completed over the winter break at a cost of $90,146, said the Hawaiʻi Department of Education.

A ceiling drainpipe from the adult bathroom above had leaked into the third-grade classroom in the E Building.

Third-grade teacher Jill Jacobs, one of the teachers who pressed for the repairs, said Friday that teachers were assured by the district before leaving for Christmas break that the plumbing issues would be fixed before classes resumed in January.

The emergency plumbing repairs were finished on New Yearʻs Eve by the state Department of Accounting and General Services‘s new West Hawaiʻi Office that was created last summer.

The repairs were very much needed, Jacobs said. During the last week of school before the holiday break, a leak in that classroom again caused her students to move to the cafeteria. That was also the case for two additional classes that meet in the room.

Teachers had to walk to another building on campus to use the restroom.

“I’m hoping it’s really fixed this time,” said Jacobs, who wonʻt be able to see for herself until she returns from the winter break on Tuesday.

Jacobs, who has taught third grade at the school for 10 years, said during the press conference that the E Building has been having plumbing problems dating to the fall of 2020.

Aside from the adults’ bathroom on the second floor, 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.

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

The state Department of Accounting and General Services and the state education department have a Service Level Agreement to address smaller repairs and maintenance for schools and libraries. The type of work included in this agreement are clearing clogged toilets with a plunger, using the shut-off valves to help isolate the problem area and replacing broken toilet seats.

While the ceiling leak was outside of the scope of the two agencies’ agreement, district officials said the Department of Accounting and General Services was able to help stabilize the problem and move toward to repair it.

The school district partners with DAGS to address work orders in schools throughout the state. On the neighbor islands, DAGS helps maintain public school facilities, state office buildings, courthouses and public libraries.

“This partnership helps ensure that facilities issues are addressed in a way that minimizes disruption to students and supports teaching and learning,” district officials stated in the email.

The DAGS West Hawaiʻi Offices manage more than 40 buildings, including Kealakehe. Hawai‘i County’s former Environmental Management Director, Ramzi Mansour, was hired in September as the Engineering Program Manager for the DAGS West Hawai‘i office.

The opening of the new DAGS office doubled the number of employees who can help address maintenance issues in these buildings. The office is recruiting for a wide range of jobs that include office assistants and trade workers, with salary ranges that go from about $3,500 a month to $6,700 a month.

All openings are civil service positions that are based in Kona or Honokaʻa, or roving positions around the coverage area. Click here to see the job listings.

“The work we do touches tens of thousands of lives, including anyone who attends a public school, uses the public library or goes to court,” said DAGS Director and Comptroller Keith Regan. “We are proud to make a difference, and we hope to attract workers who share that same passion.”

In a press release from DAGS announcing open positions for the West Hawai‘i office on Dec. 27, Mansour stated his office strives to build a transparent relationship with DAGS partners, work on projects that ensure facilities and communities receive the infrastructure and services they need, and create efficiencies and savings for the taxpayers.