COURTESY STATE OF HAWAII
A view of the devastation in the Kau district of Hawaii island on Sunday
Hawaii public schools and state and county government offices will reopen Wednesday, except in the Kau district of Hawaii-island, as the recovery from Hurricane Lala continues, officials said today.
The state Department of Education said all schools will reopen except for Naalehu Elementary School and Kau High & Pahala Elementary School in Kau, which are closed through Thursday. All public schools and government offices will close again Friday for the Admissions Day state holiday.
“Seeing firsthand the impacts on our schools and communities underscored the challenges many families are facing, particularly in areas affected by road conditions and extended power and communication outages,” said Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi, who visited schools in the Keaau, Pahala and Naalehu areas on Monday.
The DOE said the reopening schools include several campuses on Oahu and Hawaii island that are still without power today but are able to safely operate.
DOE officials said storm damage-related work orders for campuses statewide was over 600 by noon today, including 360 on Oahu, 81 on the Big Island and 175 across all the rest of the state. Those reports ranged from downed trees and damaged roofs to water intrusion, electrical issues and other facility impacts, according to DOE.
Hawaii government departments have been told to consider allowing telework consistent where practicable, if roads are impassable and an employee can perform their duties remotely, state officials said.
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“We are giving our emergency crews and public employees another day to clear roads, assess damage and make sure our workplaces and schools are safe,” Gov. Josh Green said in a news release. “Our goal is to resume normal operations statewide Wednesday, but we will not ask students, families or employees to travel through unsafe conditions. Recovery remains our priority and we will continue working with each community until critical services and infrastructure are fully restored.”