After seeing a sample of needed repairs and maintenance at the flagship University of Hawaii-Manoa campus -- work estimated at between $200 million and $400 million -- key state senators are suggesting that classrooms should take priority over athletics in this year's budget. State leaders also say that if the school is to become a world-class institution, private donors and alumni would have to step up their giving. Senators were appalled at unfinished football coaches' offices and aging athletic facilities. But they also saw a lab that was recently flooded by toilet water from the men's bathroom above it, and classrooms and offices that only meet electrical and safety codes from the 1940s.
Click here to read The Honolulu Star-Bulletin article.
EARLIER: University of Hawaii football coach June Jones has resigned, and one of the main complaints he had about his job was poor facilities. School officials say the problem that extends well beyond the athletic department--the campus needs a $300 million face lift. Top UH-Manoa administrators attributed the backlog of 126 repair and maintenance projects at the campus to low state funding and a 2004 flood that caused about $100 million in damage.
