HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s governor hopes to cool 1,000 classrooms by the end of the year, but air conditioning units have only been installed in about 40 rooms so far.
According to a state Department of Education progress report, 42 classrooms have been air conditioned and contracts for another 25 have been awarded, reported The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The department has solicited bids for AC instillation in 832 classrooms in hopes of reaching the governor’s goal.
Gov. David Ige explained the “cool schools” initiative in his State of the State speech in January and it was later funded with $100 million from the Legislature. He initially wanted the project completed by December, but it faced setbacks over an initial round of proposals came in significantly over budget this summer.
“We’re pressing forward,” Brent Suyama, DOE communications specialist. “We’re trying to get all the projects done before the beginning of next school year, and we’re pushing past 1,000 classrooms.”
Despite the delays, Ige said he’s encouraged by the progress.
“The governor remains committed to cooling public school classrooms in a cost-efficient manner and continues to work with the DOE to make it happen,” Mike McCartney, the governor’s chief of staff, said in an emailed statement. “Despite the slow start, the DOE is on track to cool more than 1,000 classrooms by next school year.”
The targeted classrooms are in 33 schools on a priority list of the state’s hottest campuses.
The top three spots include Ewa Beach Elementary, Ilima Intermediate and Campbell High schools.