The Hawai‘i Board of Education will consider temporarily closing four Lahaina schools to mark the one-year anniversary of the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires.
In a meeting today, the board will discuss allowing school employees and students to participate in commemorative events and healing activities if approved.
It’s been nearly a year since the wildfire burned through Lahaina, devastating buildings and killing at least 100 people.
While Lahainaluna High, Lahaina Intermediate and Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary were untouched by the fire, King Kamehameha III Elementary was destroyed.
The King Kamehameha III Elementary School campus was moved to the new Pulelehua development near the Kapalua Airport earlier this year.
Most of the testimony supported the one-day school closure but requested that the board also consider closing the schools on Aug. 9.
Others want a sense of normalcy.
Liko Rogers, a Hawaiian Immersion teacher at Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary, said he understands the intention.
“I don’t want this to turn into a holiday,” he said. “It’s not something we are celebrating. I understand remembering the lives that were lost and what happened to all of us, but I personally would just rather it be a regular day and continue on.”
The first day of school begins Aug. 7.
