$8 Million released to acquire land for New Kihei High School

Governor Linda Lingle today released $8 million for the acquisition of land for the new high school in Kihei.  The new campus will support the growing student population in the area and eliminate the commute for South Maui residents who currently drive to Kahului to attend Maui High School.  The release of the funds will enable the Department of Land and Natural Resources to proceed with the appraisal of the lands to be purchased.  In 2006, $700,000 was released for planning funds.  The total project cost is estimated at $145.5 million.

Image Courtesy: Group 70 International, and the Hawaii State Department of Health

The funding was part of a larger $17.25 million released by Governor Lingle to the Department of Education for capital improvement projects and new construction at public schools on Maui, Lāna‘i, Hawai‘i and O‘ahu.  The other projects are:

Lāna‘i High and Elementary School – $8 million will go toward the construction of a new six-classroom building at Lāna‘i High and Elementary School.  The new building will include science, general education and special education classrooms.  The total cost of the project is estimated to be $8,616,000.

Hilo High School – $1 million was released for the design and construction of a new gym at Hilo High School that will also serve the community as an emergency shelter.  In 2007, $1.1 million was released for the design of the new gym.  An additional $10.9 million was released in January 2008 for the construction and equipment.  The current gym was built in 1937 and is considered undersized in comparison to standard high school gyms today.  The total cost of the project is estimated at $13 million.

Webling Elementary School (Oahu) – $250,000 has been released for the construction of two portable classrooms at Webling Elementary School in ‘Aiea.  The total cost of the project is estimated to be $872,000. The Governor previously released design and construction funds for this project in 2007 and 2009.  This additional $250,000 is needed to complete the project.

“As part of our ongoing effort to stimulate the economy and create jobs, we remain focused on accelerating public construction projects, especially the repair and maintenance of our schools as well as new construction to meet the needs of growing communities throughout the state,” said Lingle.

The Lāna‘i High and Hilo High projects are among those targeted by the State as part of a plan launched in December 2008 to accelerate public infrastructure and construction to stimulate the economy and create jobs.  Since the CIP plan was launched, the State has successfully opened bids for, awarded contracts for or started construction on 702 capital improvement projects, totaling $1,683,363,188.

(Posted by Wendy Osher; Supporting information courtesy Office of the Governor)