HIDOE continues to explore options for rebuilding of Lahaina’s King Kamehameha III Elementary School

Since hosting community feedback sessions over the summer, the Hawai‘i State Department of Education continues to explore options for a permanent location to rebuild the fire-damaged King Kamehameha III Elementary School. A decision to move forward has not been made at this time. The original three sites being considered each presented challenges, and community feedback on the site that appeared most promising showed it was least preferred by stakeholders.

The Department held two community meetings in Lahaina in May to share the original three sites under consideration for a permanent location to rebuild the school. The sites presented at the time were: the school’s original location on Front Street, which was damaged beyond repair in the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires; Pulelehua near the school’s leased temporary location; and Kaʻanapali – Puʻukoliʻi Village Mauka.

At the time of the meetings, the Pulelehua site was the only option that would be able to meet a target timeline of opening in the next three to five years.

Feedback received from about 300 stakeholders showed the original Front Street location was the preferred site, with 67% of respondents in favor. A total of 54% of respondents said they did not support a permanent rebuild at Pulelehua, and 74% said they did not support the Ka‘anapali site. The feedback results were released and shared in June 2024.

In reviewing the options and taking into account feedback, although the original Front Street campus site was preferred by meeting participants, it has proven unfeasible due to factors beyond the Department’s control, including the discovery of iwi kupuna, the parcel being too small for rebuilding, and environmental development requirements.

New elementary school sites require at least 12 acres to develop on; the original property is approximately 5.5 acres. Environmental requirements – including shoreline setback, tsunami inundation zone, and special management area requirements – would also be significant in addition to the large amount of iwi kupuna found during debris removal on the property.

Complex Area Superintendent Rebecca Winkie, who oversees schools in Lahaina, and HIDOE Public Works Administrator Jadine Urasaki attended Maui County’s Lahaina Community Weekly Disaster Recovery Meeting on Sept. 25, at the invitation of the county. The Department was asked to provide an update on plans for a new site to receive the existing King Kamehameha III Elementary students and staff from the temporary FEMA site at Pulelehua. A recording of the meeting is posted on Maui County’s Facebook page.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Ke‘eaumoku Kapu of Nā ‘Aikāne o Maui Cultural Center of Lahaina, said iwi fragments were discovered at the original King Kamehameha III Elementary campus when concrete slabs were removed as part of debris removal. “No matter how small it is, that’s still iwi kupuna to us,” he said.

Kapu, who previously sat on and chaired the Maui/Lāna‘i Burial Council, said his organization worked with ‘Aha Moku O Maui and Nā Kūpuna ʻO Lahaina to initiate placing a burial crypt on the former school site, an area he described as the sacred royal compound of Kamehameha’s dynasty. He said there are 14 flex burials still in place where the burial crypt is.

“The area where we put the burial crypt is the actual location of where the Hale Kamani was … The sacred Chiefess Keōpūolani, when she passed, her iwi, or her crypt, was placed there temporarily until the mausoleum was complete on Moku‘ula,” Kapu said. (Keōpūolani was the highest ranking wife of King Kamehameha I, and mother of Kauikeaouli, King Kamehameha III.)

HIDOE is in the process of working with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the County of Maui to return the original school land to them.

The Department was recently made aware of a possible fourth school site near Lahaina Town, which was shared at the county meeting.

“We are in the process of gathering further information to enable us to assess the potential of the site,” Winkie said. “We do not at this time have the landownerʻs permission to discuss details publicly. If it becomes an option, we are committed to engaging the community to provide details and solicit input.”

The Department will organize a community meeting when it can present more information on what is being considered.