The state has funneled $18 million to improving public school playgrounds across the islands, but it’s outsourcing the work to a nonprofit.
The state Department of Education is partnering with Hawaii 3R’s to fix, replace
or build anew about 100 playgrounds.
“We now have the resources to increase student access to modernized playground equipment that students will be attracted to and challenged by,” schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi said at a Monday news conference at Pauoa Elementary School, in front of a gleaming red play structure.
Playgrounds in Hawaii seem to require frequent upgrades to meet evolving safety standards and to survive corrosive sea breezes.
“One of the things that is surprisingly really difficult to figure out and build is playground equipment because it is very specialized,” said Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke at the news conference. (The equipment
that best endures Hawaii’s climate comes from
Germany.)
While the DOE oversees 545 playgrounds, maintaining them plays second fiddle to more vital repairs. “We do have repair and maintenance (staff), but we have so many other projects going on in the department that they’re really focused on the facilities,” Hayashi said.
A DOE database titled “R&M Backlog Projects” currently lists 4,955 repair and maintenance projects that would altogether cost an estimated $1.55 billion. The database shows 1,716 “active” projects that total
$610 million, 107 labeled “queue” that would cost almost $69 million and 2,773 “backlog” projects that total $722 million. A remaining 359 are labeled
“inactive.”
Just about 70 — or 1.4% — of all those projects involve playgrounds. That’s where Hawaii 3R’s, an organization founded in 2001 by Hawaii’s late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, comes in, helping out on 39 of the projects
currently.
“We only exist for the DOE, to help with the repair and maintenance backlog,” said Hawaii 3R’s interim Executive Director Kalowena Komeiji.
Hawaii 3R’s has fixed sewer lines, repaired ramps required by the Americans With Disabilities Act, installed security fences, replaced library doors and made countless other improvements, its website says. It now has six active projects, 15 backlog projects and 18 in a queue. Some line items include resurfacing playground terrain ($175,000) and removing hazardous trees ($25,000).
“Everything from yard cleanups and new grass to repurposing classrooms to science labs, or even simple things like bringing up the electrical to code,” Komeiji said.
Why does Hawaii 3R’s do the repairs instead of the state? “They can execute a lot quicker than we would be able to,” said DOE spokesperson Nanea Kalani.
Komeiji attributes the organization’s speed to the fact that it isn’t the DOE. “We’re not bound by the same rules as the DOE,” Komeiji said. “The state can take a really long time to pay their vendor. We operate more like private business where we pay them as soon as the job is done.” Run by volunteers and just two contracted project managers, the organization has
saved the state more than
$40 million in maintenance and repair costs, its website says. It receives outside donations in addition to state funds.
State Sen. Karl Rhoads, who attended the news conference, afterward sampled the play structure’s ropes course at Pauoa Elementary.
“How did it feel?” Hayashi asked.
“Pretty sturdy,” Rhoads said. “I weigh 190 and it was fine.”
He went on, “You can definitely hurt yourself on it, which of course is half the fun.”
