Decision Due Soon On Where To Build A New Elementary School In Lahaina
The Hawaii Department of Education hopes to choose a permanent campus for King Kamehameha III Elementary by next month.
Nine months after the Lahaina fire destroyed King Kamehameha III Elementary, the search is on to find a permanent new site for the school.
On Tuesday night, the Hawaii Department of Education presented three options: the elementary school’s original location on Front Street, Puukolii Village Mauka in Kaanapali and the temporary school’s current location at the Pulelehua Project, a housing development located near the Kapalua Airport.
The meeting was held at the temporary campus.
The department recommended building a new elementary school at the Pulelehua Project, where students have been attending since April. DOE can use the temporary campus until 2029, when the school’s 30 modular classrooms must be taken down and the grounds must be restored to their original state.
Complex Area Superintendent Rebecca Winkie said the department would like to move to a permanent site within the next three to five years. Of the three proposed sites, only the Pulelehua Project would accommodate this timeline, Winkie said.
DOE has previously estimated that the temporary campus will cost from $100 million to $120 million if students remain there for a total of five years.
The department has a pre-existing agreement with Pulelehua’s developer to build a school on the property, making it easier to expedite the construction, Winkie said. Currently, no infrastructure for a school exists at the Puukolii Village Mauka housing project or in the burn zone on Front Street, she added.
Some meeting attendees raised concerns that the community would be shortchanged a school by rebuilding King Kamehameha III Elementary at the Pulelehua Project. The school initially intended for the project was meant to supplement existing campuses in Lahaina as the housing development brought more families to West Maui.
鈥淲e should be here talking about two elementary schools,鈥 said Justin Hughey, a former teacher at King Kamehameha III Elementary.
But the future of Lahaina鈥檚 student population remains unclear. In November, the department estimated that 1,000 fewer students were enrolled at Lahaina’s four public schools compared to the start of the year. King Kamehameha III Elementary currently serves about 350 students, compared to the 624 children it enrolled before the fires.
Robert Livermore, a teacher at King Kamehameha III Elementary, said he understands the value of keeping students at the Pulelehua Project permanently. At Pulelehua, the school would have space to expand its capacity in the future, and students are already familiar and comfortable with the campus, he said.
But, he added, it seems like the department has already chosen the permanent site without seriously considering community input.
“It seemed like, out of the three choices, they only gave us one choice,” Livermore said.
Winkie said the department will solicit community input through the meetings it held with teachers and families on Tuesday, as well as through a feedback form that will remain open through the end of the month. The department doesn’t plan on holding additional meetings and hopes to choose a permanent site by next month, she said.
Steve Franz, who served as principal at King Kamehameha III Elementary until his retirement in 2022, said he would like the school to return to Front Street. Community members have a deep connection to the elementary school, he said, and it’s played an important role in Lahaina’s history.
While DOE raised concerns that the school’s original campus fell within a tsunami zone and may be affected by sea level rise, Franz said he would like the department to consider other locations in Lahaina, such as the vacant lot behind the Lahaina Recreation Center.
“Up here, it just feels wrong,” Franz said.
Civil Beat鈥檚 education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.
