HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	282
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

urging the department of education to expand its pilot projects to cool hawaii's classrooms.

     WHEREAS, for decades, many of Hawaii's students have been saddled with unbearably hot classrooms, making it difficult for students to concentrate on learning; and

     WHEREAS, with limited resources, the Department of Education continues to struggle with finding ways to cool classrooms; and

     WHEREAS, only 29 of the State's 258 public schools have central air conditioning; and

     WHEREAS, new schools and new buildings on old campuses are equipped with air conditioning, but installing air conditioning in old schools can cost between $3,000,000 and $10,000,000; thus, the State has installed air conditioning in only three schools over the past decade; and

     WHEREAS, the cost of electricity further exacerbates the overall cost of providing air conditioning in classrooms; and

     WHEREAS, as a result of the cost- and time-prohibitive factors of providing air conditioning in Hawaii's classrooms, students and faculty began to look for creative and inexpensive solutions; and

     WHEREAS, in 1998, the "Waianae Solution" was born, beginning with a simple hole drilled through the wooden ceiling of a portable classroom at Waianae High School; and
     WHEREAS, students were able to turn the stifling situation into a learning experience, running experiments to determine how poorly ventilated and insulated the buildings were, while testing possible solutions; and

     WHEREAS, the experiment led to public awareness of the heat problem in classrooms, and the solar-power industry donated photovoltaic-cell-powered roof vents worth approximately $330 each to the Department of Education for testing in portables; and

     WHEREAS, the Department of Education has acknowledged the cost and slow pace of installing air conditioning, particularly during difficult economic times, and has launched several pilot projects in areas suffering from the most heat; and

     WHEREAS, solutions include the installation of various heat-reduction modifications, including special lights, roofing, and paint, as well as ceiling fans and insulation; and

     WHEREAS, these solutions are less costly and more eco-friendly than air conditioning; and

     WHEREAS, the health, comfort, and learning conditions of Hawaii's students should be made a priority; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Education is urged to expand its pilot projects to cool Hawaii's classrooms; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to continue to encourage students, in an expeditious manner, to be creative in finding solutions and using available resources to cool classrooms; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to submit a report to the Legislature on its progress in cooling Hawaii's classrooms no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Cooling Hawaii's Classrooms; DOE Pilot Project