HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	268
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO exercise EMERGENCY POWERS TO EXPEDITE THE INSTALLATION OF AIR CONDITIONING AT JAMES CAMPBELL HIGH SCHOOL.

     WHEREAS, only twenty-one of the two hundred fifty-seven public schools in the State are fully air conditioned, and due to high levels of heat found in the State's public schools, the Department of Education last year conducted a study to determine priority for installing air conditioning in those schools without air conditioning; and

     WHEREAS, under the original criteria of the study, James Campbell High School in Ewa Beach was ranked seventh in priority to receive air conditioning; and

     WHEREAS, in November 2007, Department of Education officials updated the list of schools to account for humidity and the amount of time that schools remain at peak temperatures before heat subsides; and

     WHEREAS, under the updated criteria, James Campbell High School's priority for air conditioning dropped from number seven to number seventy; and

     WHEREAS, James Campbell High School is unique in its circumstances in that it is located under the glide path to runways at Honolulu International Airport and Hickam Air Force Base; and

     WHEREAS, the excessive noise and dust generated by commercial and military aircraft landing at the airfields demands that classroom windows must frequently remain closed during the day so that classes are not disturbed; and

     WHEREAS, the closed classroom windows prevent air circulation and result in even higher temperatures in the classrooms that make it difficult for teachers to teach and for students to concentrate and learn; and

     WHEREAS, teachers and students at James Campbell High School have recorded classroom temperatures as high as one hundred degrees, and they are forced to combat the heat by wiping their foreheads with wet cloths, rolling up their shirts, and huddling around fans; and

     WHEREAS, the new criteria used to determine the priority of public schools for receiving air conditioning does not take into account the special conditions of excessive noise and dust that contribute to the excessive heat at James Campbell High School; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Governor is urged to find that the excessive noise pollution and air pollution generated by aircraft landing near James Campbell High School creates an imminent peril to the public health and safety of the students and faculty at the school, pursuant to section 342B-43 and 342F-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is urged to exercise emergency powers and take action as may be necessary to expedite the installation of air conditioning at James Campbell High School in order to reduce heat, excessive noise, and dust pollution in the classrooms; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, and the principal of James Campbell High School.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title: 

Emergency Powers; James Campbell High School; Air Conditioning