School properties need inspections

The collapse of the Farrington High School auditorium roof in the aftermath of a heavy afternoon downpour on Friday was a frightening episode that ought to scare Hawaii’s taxpayers about their public schools’ physical condition.

The escape from what could have been a terrible tragedy could not have been any narrower.

Shortly before 3:30 in the afternoon, a 40-foot section from the flat roof of the 60-year-old auditorium fell in. The debris landed on several rows of seats fronting the auditorium stage. By sheer luck, it happened on a school holiday, and the one person in the building at the time got out unharmed.

It could have been so much worse, of course. Students and others who use the community facility often are sitting in those seats. On the day of the incident, about a few dozen dancers from a middle- and high-school troupe were right outside, rehearsing for the Kalihi Christmas parade. Others were nearby, setting up tents for the weekly New Hope Christian Fellowship service. A slam poetry contest, with at least 100 due to attend, had been scheduled for the following evening.

The auditorium clearly is a heavily used public facility where there should be assurances of safety — and it’s only one of many like it throughout the school system. This near-miss should serve as a wakeup call — a deafening one — that officials need to overhaul its policy regarding inspections of the state’s public school infrastructure.

Department of Education officials said Monday that the auditorium roof was 27 years old, beyond the end of its expected 12- to 15-year life. DOE staff said the cause of the collapse is being investigated.

Such a structural failure could have been anticipated. Even worse is the fact that nobody was looking. In general, officials said, such installations don’t get inspected until they’re past due for replacement, or unless there’s reported evidence of a problem.

School officials said that the DOE is in the midst of a new facilities master-planning process, adding that the priorities given to various projects would be re-evaluated. Additionally, the issue of inspections is now on the table, they said.

That’s a no-brainer. Actually, the notion of such spotty building inspections of critical elements such as building roofs shows a lack of brainpower. Given that Hawaii’s school buildings are characteristically so old, it’s stunning that inspections are not routine.

There’s been a great deal of debate over a recent proposal to enable redevelopment of public property with private partners: the controversial Public Land Development Corp. But although some people have voiced legitimate concerns about PLDC projects getting enough public review, it’s hard to dispute the need for overhauling many of the state’s public properties, some of them in dire need. Schools sit at the top of the list.

At a "21st Century Schools" conference held earlier this year, school design and facilities experts from around the country paid a visit to Hawaii’s public schools and found them in shocking condition. One pointed out that the state was spending about $300 per pupil on facilities for the 2005-2008 period, when the national average investment was $1,000. And that neglect has been going on for decades.

Congress has contemplated a proposal to provide $30 billion nationally for school facilities, with Hawaii’s share estimated at $82 million. The state’s congressional delegation ought to press leadership to pursue this initiative when the newly elected members convene in January.

In the meantime, the state Department of Education must put a high priority on establishing a sound schedule of inspections. Leaving to chance the safety of the taxpayers who paid for and use these public buildings is simply intolerable.