King Kamehameha III Elementary School will be rebuilt close to original site on Front Street

It’s been two long years since King Kamehameha III Elementary School was destroyed in the Lahaina wildfire of 2023, but the students, teachers, parents and community members now know where the permanent new education facility will be rebuilt.

And while it won’t be back at its original site on Front Street, as most had hoped for in an initial survey, the chosen 14-acre Kuʻia site owned by Kamehameha Schools is not far away, just 0.6 miles directly inland. It is above the tsunami inundation zone and below the Lahaina Bypass.

“There was a sense of, not necessarily relief, but a sense of just, ‘Okay, we have our decision,’ ” said Michael McCloskey, the school’s new principal since March. “We can still keep the name King Kamehameha III, which was very important to a lot of our staff, and just understanding that we are going to be moving forward.”

McCloskey announced the decision to his staff at an after-school meeting on Wednesday afternoon from the elementary school’s temporary site directly below the Kapalua Airport. He said many of them anticipated the announcement of Kuʻia because of their participation and knowledge of the survey process that led to the selection.

Later on Wednesday night, the general public learned about the decision during a Lahaina Community Meeting webinar.

“From the beginning, my priority has been to follow the lead of the Lahaina community in deciding where their keikis’ school should be rebuilt,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a news release. “The selection of the Kuʻia site reflects the voices of residents who want their children connected to their home, culture, history and future.”

Bissen added: “This new school will honor the legacy of King Kamehameha III while providing a safe and resilient place for our children to learn and thrive.”

During the webinar, some details were revealed about the $162 million collaborative project of the state, County of Maui, and federal and private sector partners.

Soon, appropriate cultural and environmental surveys for the property will begin. The proposed opening date is the beginning of the 2028-29 school year.

“This represents a major milestone in Lahaina’s healing and recovery,” Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green said in the news release.

But the project still requires federal funding and legislative support before construction can begin. The state is pursuing Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement fund options. Any remaining balance likely will be covered by state appropriations, insurance payouts or a combination of both, according to the state.

The new location was identified after the Hawaiʻi Department of Education conducted extensive outreach in the Maui community.

“Rebuilding King Kamehameha III Elementary is essential for the healing and recovery of our students, families and staff,” state superintendent Keith T. Hayashi said in the news release. “Our priority is to provide a permanent school where learning can continue without disruption.”

Hayashi said that one of Gov. Josh Green’s emergency proclamations — and strong support from Green, Bissen and the State Legislature — allowed the Department of Education to move more quickly to transition “our students from temporary modular classrooms to a school they can call home” and “built with their needs and future in mind.”

Between May 2024 and November 2024, the Hawaiʻi Department of Education conducted outreach meetings and surveys with the Lahaina community, including area residents, school faculty and staff, alumni and other stakeholders. 

Two reports summarized the feedback: one in June 2024 and one in January 2025. A total of 485 area residents participated in the surveys.

In the first survey, 67% supported rebuilding the school in the original Front Street location. In 2013, the school had celebrated its 100th birthday.

But that plan proved not to be feasible because of the impact to iwi kūpuna (ancestral bones) and the high risk of flooding. Rebuilding at that 5.6-acre site also would have required a smaller, vertical school, which would have been cost-prohibitive and would not have met the needs of the community, according to the news rerlease from the state.

The community’s next choice was the Kuʻia property due to its favorable traffic conditions, better emergency access and proximity to the original elementary school. Over half, 51% of the respondents in the second survey, supported this location.

Kekai Keahi, a Native Hawaiian community leader in Lahaina, said in written testimony he is in “strong support” of the Ku’ia site because it is “the most historically, culturally and practically viable option. King Kamehameha III School belongs in the heart of Lahaina, near Mokuʻula and the former residence of Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III).”

Keahi added: “Rebuilding in this area preserves the historic and cultural integrity of Lahaina and honors the legacy of the Moʻi. Relocation away from this central and sacred area would be a significant loss to the community’s cultural fabric.”

A third proposed site at Pulelehua, about seven miles away from the original Front Street elementary school, received support from 46% in the second survey. The temporary Lahaina elementary school is located on an adjacent parcel.

Many of the King Kamehameha III Elementary School students come from north of Lahaina, although McCloskey said a precise number was not available without a deep look at the school’s student records.

“One thing that has been voiced both at school and then at our community meetings, is the fact that there does need to be another school at some point when enrollment allows for it up here on the north end,” said McCloskey, who spent the prior 12 years as a Hawai’i Department of Education administrator on the Big Island.

Keahi said, “The Pulelehua development requires its own dedicated school to meet the needs of a growing population.”

A fourth site at Pu‘ukoli‘i Village — nearly two miles away from the original Front Street elementary school — was supported by just 4% in the first survey.

Respondents to the surveys attributed a lot of weight to a property’s cultural and historical significance. Residents also cited traffic and providing educational and extracurricular opportunities for students as important factors. Locating the school at Kuʻia addressed many priorities expressed by the community.

The Kuʻia site keeps the school in Lahaina, where King Kamehameha III lived and governed, honoring his historic legacy. Kuʻia locates the school near other educational and civic resources, including the Boys and Girls Club — Lahaina, and the Lahaina Aquatic Center. 

The location would also enhance safety, fire mitigation, accessibility and convenience for the Lahaina community. Preliminary plans include developing multiple access points to help ease traffic congestion and increase the number of evacuation routes.

The temporary elementary school in Pulelehua was quickly built in months in a project led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is made up of 336 modular units assembled into 38 buildings to provide classrooms, administrative offices and other facilities.

When the temporary school is no longer needed, the Army Corps of Engineers said in an email to Hawaiʻi Journalism Initiative that it will remove the modular units and related utility connections, including electricity, water, sewer and telecommunications. Then crews will complete minor grading and sodding to stabilize the area and “return the property to a safe condition consistent with its prior use.”

But for the next two years or so, the temporary school will continue to serve the young students, including fifth-grader Kolokea Garcia, the daughter of Darice Garcia, an educational assistant at the school, and Louis Garcia, a security guard at the school.

Darice Garcia said when the staff was informed of the new site for the school, with the land coming from Kamehameha Schools, it felt like “Maui helping Maui.”

A Kamehameha Schools spokesperson said in an email to Hawaiʻi Journalism Initiative that “Kamehameha Schools is honored that Ke Aliʻi Pauahi’s ʻāina in Kuʻia has been selected as the future site of King Kamehameha III Elementary School, reflecting the wishes of the community and marking a key step in the restoration of Lahaina.

“Following the lead of the community, we are envisioning a surrounding neighborhood with affordable housing focused on Lahaina residents, commerce and gathering spaces, creating a vibrant, safe, family-centered hub for the area.” 

“It’s awesome that they were able to do that,” said Darice Garcia, who has lived in Lahaina for 35 years. “It’s pretty big and significant for those of Lahaina. Truly of Lahaina, like my husband (who was born there). …  Lahaina is my home, but for my husband, this is huge because King Kamehameha III was built in Lahaina for the Lahaina people.”

While her daughter will have moved on to Lahaina Intermediate School by the time the new school on the permanent site is finished, Darice Garcia said the current student population at the Pulelehua temporary site are “thriving.”

“They’re dealing with stuff, but I think overall every day, the kids are just happy to be together with their community and friends that they’ve known a long time,” she said.

Rebecca Winkie, the area superintendent for the as the Hāna-Lahainaluna-Lānaʻi-Molokaʻi Complex, said the highest priorities for the final decision were traffic and emergency access, followed by location convenience, ability to expand, history and tradition.

The school enrollment has been rebounding after falling immediately after the Lahaina wildfire. In Fall 2023, the pre-registration before the school year officially began and the fire struck on Aug. 8 was 604. In the spring of the 2023-24 school year, enrollment was only 265, according to the Hawaiʻi Department of Education.

Since then, enrollment has increased to 330 in the Fall 2024, 395 in the Fall 2025, and 422 this fall.

Deputy state superintendent Tammi Oyadomari-Chun said those numbers are expected to continue to climb.

“One thing that’s important about the enrollments is, first, that we see our families and our students returning to Lahaina,” Oyadomari-Chun said during the webinar. “And the other is that as the enrollments have grown, we expect them to continue to grow.”