The state Department of Education is in the midst of installing 43 new playgrounds at schools across the state, but one school is raising concerns about safeguarding the new equipment from vandals.

Even before the construction of Waipahu Elementary School's new playground got off the ground last month, vandals broke into the construction site, took glueing supplies, tiles and toilet paper. They wrapped trees and the pedestrian bridge with the paper, tossed the glue on the road below the bridge and scattered tiles intended to surface the playground.

"To have this happen on the first day before even starting was just very disheartening," said Paul Taga, Waipahu Elementary principal. The school has been without a playground for at least 10 years, Taga said, adding that he worries the new equipment will suffer a similar fate.

Vandalism is not new to the school, but with budget shortfalls facing the state and the new playground costing about $140,000, Taga is concerned that if it is damaged the school would not be able to replace it.

He's asking residents to watch over the school and report suspicious behavior to 911.

The vandals caused a delay in the project and a loss of income to the contractor who had to replace the supplies taken, said Monica Kaui Baron, playground coordinator in the DOE Office of School Facilities and Support Services.

The DOE is finalizing the construction of 11 playgrounds and is preparing to build 32 more, Baron said.

"Vandalism occurs quite frequently on any project," she said. "It depends on the area."

Poor visibility of the site and no lights also contribute to the problem, Baron said, adding that site security is the responsibility of the contractor, not the DOE.

"It doesn't cost us anything but time," she said.

After the Waipahu problem the contractor hired a guard to watch over the site, Baron said.

Since 1999, when school playgrounds across the Islands were closed because of safety issues, the department has replaced about 200 playgrounds, with the Legislature funding projects almost every year. Every school that wants a playground has one, and some have two depending on their enrollment numbers.

Fern, Kaewai, Koko Head and Honowai elementary schools are without their own playgrounds but use adjoining city park playgrounds, Baron said. Koko Head is on the list for the next round of new playgrounds, Baron said.

With all of the schools equipped with a playground, a new round of construction has begun to replace, upgrade or repair the units as they age. Their life span is about 10 to 15 years but many surfaces have failed — some after only one year — and those are being replaced with tiles that Baron said are expected to last longer.

The next round of playgrounds will be built by Hawaii Correctional Industries, which trains prisoners for a variety of jobs they can apply for once released. HCI is wrapping up the last set of playground projects, bringing in the work at lower cost and allowing the state to build more playgrounds with the available money, Baron said.

HCI is able to negotiate lower costs for materials and shipping and that has benefited the DOE, she said.

"We're getting good playground value. ... We're getting larger playgrounds," Baron said.