Courtney D’Agostino, a first grade teacher at Holualoa Elementary, said she has used 60 sick days this school year, as the mold growing in her classroom made her unable to work. 

“Mold can grow in your lungs, it can grow in your sinuses,” D’Agostino told Spectrum News Hawaii. “Every time I would go back to school, I would have a sore throat or I would lose my voice.” 

She also described having symptoms of coughing, joint pain, and fatigue. Mostly, she is concerned about how the mold might be affecting her students, who are still developing.

“We don't know the long-term effect on our keiki’s health,” said D’Agostino.

Holualoa Elementary in North Kona on Hawaii Island was founded in 1895 and about 500 students are enrolled at the school. 

The Hawaii State Teachers Association, the teacher’s union, held a press conference on Feb. 20 to sound the alarm about the school’s problems, which they said include mold, chipping lead paint, old carpets, asbestos, rats, termites and structural damage. Because of the mold, classrooms have been deemed unusable. They called on the Hawaii Department of Education to take swift action to address the issues.

While many of the problems have been persistent for at least two decades, D’Agostino said the DOE’s promises made over the past three years to remove carpeting have not been kept.  

“For the past three years, we've been told that our 22-year-old carpets will be torn up. They’re moldy. They're held together by duct tape or electrical tape,” said D’Agostino.

D’Agostino said she was told that the carpets couldn’t be removed because of asbestos. 

However, after the HSTA’s press conference was held, D’Agostino said Assistant Superintendent Randall Tanaka hired 89-day contract employees who removed the carpets in her classroom, put in new flooring and covered the walls with mold-inhibiting paint in just four days.

Actions being taken

The Department of Education said in an email to Spectrum News Hawaii sent on March 9 that it is taking action to remedy the problems at Holualoa Elementary by procuring dehumidifiers, hiring professional cleaning services, relocating classrooms while they are renovated, enlisting exterminators and submitting work orders to the Department of Accounting and General Services for foundation concerns, flaking paint and walkway repairs. 

According to records kept by the Hawaii State Teachers Association, 6 out of 38 classrooms have been partially renovated. The cafeteria stage and a breezeway were also power washed and repainted. 

Tanaka, the Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations, said at a “West Hawaii talk story” hosted by local lawmakers on March 8 that he is working to renovate up to 17 classrooms by the end of the summer.

“It's a combination of refreshing the rooms, taking out the carpet, putting the dehumidifiers in and we think we've got it managed,” said Tanaka. “We'll be in pretty good shape in the next school year when we open the school.”

However, HSTA’s Vice President Logan Okita, who is a teacher at Nimitz Elementary, told Spectrum News Hawaii at this point it is hard to trust the DOE to follow through with renovating the classrooms, and she would like to see a detailed timeline for when future renovations and repairs would be completed. 

“We can't rely on their promises without seeing the action being taken. We saw some activity right after the first press conference (in February)… (but) that's not necessarily complete action,” said Okita. “It needs to get done. These teachers are getting sicker and the kids are still suffering the consequences.”

A master plan

Teachers at the HSTA’s press conference also raised concerns about extensive termite and structural damage to the foundation of the buildings.

Tanaka said at the “West Hawaii talk story” that he is also working on a “master plan” to rebuild the school, which includes making it complaint with the Americans with Disabilities Act, addressing safety issues with a road that cuts through the school, easing access to the school for dropping off and picking up students, and building a three-story multipurpose facility for classrooms and support facilities.

The next step in designing the “master plan,” according to Tanaka, is to finish a topography study. 

In 2022, the Hawaii State Legislature allocated $2 million to plan for these campus improvements. 

In order to proceed, Nanea Kalani, the spokesperson for the DOE, told Spectrum News Hawaii that an Environmental Assessment will also need to be completed, which is not expected to begin until Aug. 2024.

The DOE estimates the total construction for the campus improvements will cost up to $57 million. 

“Future construction funding… is still to be requested from the legislature,” said Kalani.

State Sen. Dru Kanuha, who represents Kona and Kaʻū, intends to include a funding request for Holualoa Elementary School in the Senate Draft of the Budget, according to an aide. He previously requested $48 million in capital improvement project funding for the school in Senate Bill 1575.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a statement sent to Spectrum News Hawaii that he would sign off on any funding requests for Holualoa Elementary that lawmakers send to him.

“Holualoa holds a special place in my heart, because I used to live there and I know the area well. I have been briefed on the very serious situation at the school and I’m supportive of the efforts the Department of Education is making to address the issues,” said Green. “In order to expedite repair work, I am absolutely ready and willing to approve any capital improvement fund requests that state lawmakers send to me.”

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.

Editor's note: A quote from Courtney D’Agostino about what is holding the carpet together has been corrected.