Some Hawaii public schools have not shared COVID-19 case counts for months

Forty-two Hawaii public schools as of Tuesday had not posted their COVID-19 case counts to the state Department of Education’s public dashboard since before winter break, even though they are required by state law to do so weekly.

That means many families, educators and community leaders have not had the reliable, publicly accessible case counts for their neighborhood schools that the law was designed to provide.

Some schools had made no coronavirus case reports since as far back as August or September, through the surges of the COVID-19 delta and omicron variants.

Schools with missing case counts included some of Hawaii’s largest schools, such as Mililani High School, and schools in areas with historically high coronavirus case counts, such as Waianae High School.

While the dashboard on Wednesday claimed a daily average of 410 cases across the 257 public schools since the Jan. 2 start of the new term, the missing data “really skews the average,” said Osa Tui Jr., president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association. “It also really calls into question the validity of the numbers.”

Transparent case counts are crucial for educators and parents to make sound decisions about the safety of their schools, Tui said.

Tui, a math teacher, created a spreadsheet of schools that hadn’t posted case counts since before winter break, and posted it on social media Tuesday night. Some schools after that time appear to have updated their data.

The dashboard reports daily statewide counts ranging from 463 to 560 for the first week of the new semester, 786 cases on Monday and 457 cases on Tuesday.

A newsletter sent out Wednesday by state schools interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi said a total of 2,551 confirmed or probable cases were reported across the state’s 257 public schools from Jan. 3-7. That report excluded the Jan. 2 date when only teachers were called to campus, for a daily average of 510.2 cases.

In a response to an inquiry by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, state Department of Education acting Communications Director Nanea Kalani said, “Some schools are dealing with case reporting backlogs due to the increased number of cases reported after the winter break and may be further impacted by staffing shortages for the same reason. These schools are prioritizing the identification and notification of close contacts — which is a responsibility delegated to school administrators — and will file reported cases as soon as possible. HIDOE leadership is discussing possible solutions to help streamline and alleviate some of that burden.”

Asked to respond to reports from some campuses of confusion over the handling of infections contracted off campus, Kalani quoted the DOE’s current health and safety guidance: “If the case was on campus during the infectious period, notification to the school community must go out. If the case was on campus within the last two weeks but not during the infectious period, notification is strongly recommended. If the case was off campus for more than two weeks, notification is optional.” All such cases must still be included in the dashboard counts, she said.

The law doesn’t make distinctions. It reads: “The department of education shall publish a weekly report on schools that have a student, staff member, or affiliated individual who has tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The report shall include: (1) The school’s name; (2) The date the COVID-19 positive test result was reported to the school; and (3) The date that the positively tested individual was last on the school campus.”

Meanwhile, the Hawaii teachers union announced Wednesday that it has filed a new demand for impact bargaining, as well as a grievance, over changes to working conditions as the schools struggle to cope with widespread teacher absences due to the latest COVID-19 surge.

The demand for impact bargaining, addressed to Hayashi and state Board of Education chair Catherine Payne, alleges recent changes to members’ working conditions without negotiation or a consult-­and-­confer process, which the union says are violations of contract, department policy and state law.

In a letter to union members, the HSTA also said it has initiated a grievance regarding the interim superintendent’s direction to administrators to “inappropriately subvert the HIDOE school code to force non-classroom teachers with their own responsibilities to substitute (teach) in violation of our collective bargaining agreement.”

Kalani said the department was checking to see if it was officially notified of HSTA’s demand.

On Jan. 5, 1,800 teachers were absent, with half calling out sick and half absent for other reasons such as family leave and vacation. The department was short of substitute teachers by the hundreds, leading school officials on many campuses to use counselors, security guards, state and district personnel, and other adults to supervise students lacking their regular teachers.

MISSING CASES

Forty-two Hawaii public schools as of Tuesday night had not had their COVID-19 case counts posted on the state schools dashboard since before the winter break, although they are required by state law to post them weekly. As of Tuesday, the schools and the last date they reported a COVID-19 case:

Aiea-Moanalua-Radford Complex:

Aliamanu Elementary: Sept. 26

Mokulele Elementary: Sept. 7

Radford High: Sept. 19

Baldwin-Kekaulike-Maui Complex:

Baldwin High: Dec. 15

Haiku Elementary: Nov. 18

Iao Intermediate: Oct. 5

Lokelani Intermediate: Sept. 10

Campbell-Kapolei Complex:

Kapolei Middle: Dec. 16

Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex:

Aina Haina Elementary: Dec. 8

Hahaione Elementary: Aug. 18

Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind: Sept. 20

Kaewai Elementary: Oct. 1

Koko Head Elementary: Nov. 30

Hana-Lahainaluna-Lanai-Molokai Complex:

Kilohana Elementary: Aug. 18

Lahaina Intermediate: Dec. 16

Lahainaluna High: Sept. 17

Hilo-Waiakea Complex:

Keaukaha Elementary: Sept. 28

Waiakea Elementary: Oct. 4

Honokaa-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena Complex:

Holualoa Elementary: Oct. 5

Honaunau Elementary: Sept. 27

Hookena Elementary: Oct. 26

Ke Kula O Ehunuikaimalino: Sept. 7

Kealakehe Elementary: Oct. 24

Kealakehe Intermediate: Sept. 2

Kohala High: Dec. 13

Kohala Middle: Sept. 8

Kailua-Kalaheo Complex:

Enchanted Lake Elementary: Sept. 15

Pope Elementary: Oct. 21

Kaimuki-McKinley-Roosevelt Complex:

Ala Wai Elementary: Sept. 13

Keelikolani Middle: Oct. 4

Likelike Elementary: Sept. 22

Lincoln Elementary: Oct. 16

Kapaa-Kauai-Waimea Complex:

Niihau High & Elementary: Sept. 2

Kau-Keaau-Pahoa Complex:

Kau High & Pahala Elementary: Sept. 15

Keaau Elementary: Sept. 9

Pahoa Elementary: Oct. 7

Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex:

Kaala Elementary: Aug. 23

Mililani High: Sept. 28

Wahiawa Middle: Sept. 20

Nanakuli-Waianae Complex:

Makaha Elementary: Sept. 13

Waianae High: Oct. 18