(Photo courtesy of Gov. Abercrombie’s Facebook page)

In the wake of Friday’s collapse of the Farrington High School auditorium roof, Gov. Abercrombie, Ed Supt. Matayoshi and DAGS Comptroller Seki talked about safety at state facilities during a press conference this afternoon.

The governor said he’d allocate extra money for building inspectors. But he didn’t say how much he’d be willing to put in his executive budget, due to the Legislature by Dec. 17, to actually address the aging and ailing facilities themselves.

No one was injured at the school, but investigators are checking to see if there’s asbestos or other hazardous materials in the rubble. 

The Department of Education recently sent its proposed capital improvement projects budget to the governor. The Board of Education, which approved the request in October, said the state school district’s old school buildings are in need of serious repair and replacement but the budget for fixing the problem is woefully underfunded.

Civil Beat will be taking a closer look at how the state intends to address the issue.