King Kamehameha III Elementary School operated on Lahaina’s Front Street for more than a century before the campus was destroyed in last August's fire. Classes are currently being held out of modular units at a temporary location near Kapalua Airport. Meanwhile, the Department of Education and community are making plans to rebuild.
Three locations were proposed by the DOE: the original Front Street location; Pulelehua, near the temporary campus; and a Kāʻanapali site at Puʻukoliʻi Village Mauka.
Nearly 300 school and community members have shared input during community meetings and an online survey.
Their first choice is clear — they want to rebuild on Front Street.
“One of the biggest takeaways is that the majority of the participants and the folks who responded to the online surveys is wanting to return to the original location, and if not able to return to the original location, to at least return to somewhere in Lahaina town,” said DOE Complex Area Superintendent Rebecca Winkie.
“They cited the cultural and historical importance and the sentimental value that that location holds in our community,” she added.
Lahaina resident Kaliko Storer attended King Kamehameha III as a student herself, and now her son attends the Hawaiian language immersion program on the temporary campus.
“There's ... not just cultural significance, but the history,” she explained. “That block [of Lahaina] is very important. Personally, I can't imagine anything else going there. That's a piece of that town.”
While it’s well-loved, the Front Street location is still in the fire recovery process and the property does not have space for future expansion, Winkie said. Participants voiced strong opposition to the Kāʻanapali location. Some expressed concern that the DOE might be biased towards the Pulelehua site, where the department has an existing agreement with the developer and permitting can be expedited.
Some community members were also open to building two schools — one at Pulelehua that would allow for quicker completion and long-term growth, while also rebuilding a campus at the Front Street site to honor the school’s history.
Winkie said there are a lot of factors to consider.
“The community feedback also did bring up questions and things for us to consider, like, ‘Are there any other locations besides these three sites that we could look at?’ ‘Is there something else that's in Lahaina town?’… A lot of questions came up that have to be given due consideration. I think originally, our timeline was to hopefully make an announcement this summer, June or July. I don't know if that's still the case, but there is a sense of urgency to move and to get out of the temporary location as soon as we can.”
That urgency partly comes from a huge increase in lease expenses that would begin after three years at the temporary site.
The property is currently leased for $1 per year for the first three years. After that, it increases to $180,000 for the fourth year and $230,000 for the fifth year. The school's modular structures are also being leased.
But Storer said rebuilding the Front Street school is worth the money — and the wait for the debris cleanup process to finish.
“We’re sitting two months out from it being a year, and the percentage, the amount that is completed — by the time we hit Aug. 8, we will be almost done with commercial, which includes that area of Kamehameha ʻEkolu, and all of the housing will be done," she said.
"So is it worth a conversation? Of course it is, and obviously this is a town that, you know, sometimes when people say, 'Ah, no can.' And this town says, ‘Ah, yeah, can.’ ‘Oh, it's going to take too long.’ Well, actually, we're beating all the odds.”
One thing is clear: This school means a lot to the Lahaina community.
“This really, I think, is kind of a key part of the healing of Lahaina, that we're going to give it the due respect and consideration that it deserves,” Winkie said.
The department is currently reviewing the community feedback, which can be viewed online in this report. Winkie said later this summer, another round of meetings will be held to receive input on school design.
