HONOLULU (KHON2) — Sweltering classroom conditions have long been a problem for Hawaii’s public schools and a new audit reveals the state’s efforts to cool them have fallen short.
Hawaii’s public school classrooms are still too hot for comfort nearly a decade after the state promised relief. A 2025 audit reveals the Department of Education’s Cool Classrooms Initiative to air condition 1,000 classrooms spent nearly $105 million, but was estimated to have only cooled 838 rooms.
“That was one of our first questions is, ‘How many classrooms and what schools have air conditioning?’ And the response was, ‘We don’t know. We don’t have an accurate inventory of the classrooms of the schools that have air conditioning,’” said Hawaii State Auditor Les Kondo. “They need to be accountable for the their use of public money. That is a no doubt, no question, bottom line. And how do they do that? They need to develop a system to better account for their expenditures.”
The state auditor said poor record-keeping and rushed planning plagued the initiative — some solar powered units were installed under tree canopies and did not produce enough electricity to last the full school day.
A former Farrington High School ceramics teacher said it is an ongoing issue at his old campus.
“The DOE said when I got hired in 2022 that they were going to start implementing a season in the classroom. But when I left in 2025, there’s maybe one building almost finished, and more than half of the classrooms still didn’t have air conditioning,” Ian Ozaki Nash said.
Pediatricians add that hot classrooms can be a detriment to learning, leading to increased irritability and decreased productivity.
“Children are more vulnerable to heat than adults because they can’t produce as much sweat. So they can’t what they call thermo-regulate,” said Wee Pediatrics Medical Director Dr. Theresa Wee. “They say 68 degrees to 74 degrees is the optimal temperature.”
Below is a list of ongoing and planned air conditioning projects:
Projects Under Construction (2025)
- Kapa‘a Middle – Building F, AC replacement
- Kaimukī High – Chiller replacement
- Holomua Elementary – AC Phase 2
- Royal Elementary – Buildings E and A
Projects Going Out to Bid (2025)
- King Intermediate – AC installation in Buildings B, C, E, and I
- Castle High – Building A, AC installation
- Lincoln Elementary – Potential AC installation in Buildings A, B, D, and E (subject to funding availability), with priority classrooms A2, B11, E24, and E25
Projects Funded for FY2026 (Design & Construction)
- Kealakehe High – Building V, AC replacement
- Barbers Point Elementary – Library AC replacement
- Kanoelani Elementary – Building E, AC replacement
- Lokelani Intermediate – Building E, AC installation
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DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement:
“The Hawai‘i State Department of Education acknowledges the findings of the auditor’s report and the serious issues identified. The initiative was launched with urgency and good intentions — responding to real heat challenges affecting our students and staff — but was undermined by flawed execution, inconsistent oversight, and ineffective systems at the time.”
The statement then went on to outline their priorities and next steps.
“Our priority now is to apply the lessons from this report. That includes improving internal accountability, ensuring proper planning for future projects, and delivering on our commitment to safe, comfortable learning environments for all students,” Hayashi continued. “We are taking meaningful steps to improve and rebuild confidence in how we serve our schools and communities.”