Although some Hawaii lawmakers have grumbled that a new agency in charge of public school construction is moving too slowly, its leader says the first 11 classrooms in the state’s Ready Keiki preschool initiative are on track to welcome students this fall — below budget and a year ahead of schedule — while three Oahu high schools are in advanced discussions to become Hawaii’s first major teacher housing projects.

Under the latest version of the state’s Ready Keiki preschool plan, the state School Facilities Authority is set to open 11 newly renovated classrooms this August, rising to 55 renovated or new classrooms by August 2024, and 80 to 100 classrooms by August 2025, said Executive Director Chad Keone Farias. Originally, the first classrooms had not been expected until 2024.

The Ready Keiki initiative, spearheaded by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, aims to create 465 classrooms over time through a combination of renovations and new construction to provide preschool access to all Hawaii 3- and 4-year-olds by 2032. The new classrooms will join 37 public preschool classrooms already run by the state’s Executive Office of Early Learning.

“It’s a steep hill to climb, but one worth climbing,” Farias said Wednesday during an interview in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight” livestream series.

Farias, a three-decade Hawaii public school educator, was appointed last year to head the School Facilities Authority, which the Legislature created to take over responsibility from the state Department of Education for new school construction projects. The authority has a five-member advisory board, but only two staff members besides Farias, and no physical office or website.

Meanwhile, if state Senate Bill 941 passes, the School Facilities Authority also could be tasked with building teacher housing projects at Mililani, Nanakuli and Waipahu high schools.

The measure, introduced by state Senate Education Chair Michelle Kidani, has survived two crossovers at the Legislature, and in its latest form proposes $185 million to be distributed among the three sites for new construction. Mililani eventually could end up being a “proof of concept” pilot site, with the other two funded initially for design and planning, but discussions are still fluid, Farias said.

SB 941 is meant to help solve Hawaii’s chronic teacher shortage.

“Hawaii continues to suffer from a shortage of licensed teachers as Hawaii’s teacher salaries continue to trail the nation when adjusted for cost of living,” the bill draft reads. “Providing financial incentives and affordable options for teacher housing are key strategies for the recruitment and retention of teachers.”

Mililani, Nanakuli and Waipahu also have been mentioned by Luke as possible sites for on-campus public preschools. Farias said Wednesday it’s possible that construction could be combined, with preschool classrooms on the ground floor and teacher housing above.

Meanwhile, renovations to ready the first 11 classrooms at existing public schools are coming in well under the approximate $1 million per classroom initially estimated for the preschool plan, Farias said. (See accompanying list.) The 11 renovated classrooms alone are running about $350,000 each, he said. Facilities have had to be remade to provide desks, toilets and other amenities in sizes appropriate for preschoolers, with bathrooms in “line of sight” for teachers, he said.

In addition, educational and safe outdoor play spaces also have had to be added, at a cost of about $300,000 to $350,000 per site. “In early childhood (education), play outdoor space is as important as indoor space,” Farias said.

He added that the authority is currently “in negotiations to site-assess 19 more sites for a total of 21 more classrooms” to renovate, and in talks for 13 new sites to construct 18 new classrooms.

The 2022 Legislature appropriated $200 million for the first wave of new classrooms. In the end, the total price tag will be somewhere between $265 million and $730 million, depending on how many classrooms are renovated and how many are built, Luke has said.

But preschool classrooms and teacher housing aren’t the only things on the School Facilities Authority’s plate: New school construction in various locations, including burgeoning Kapolei and East Maui, also are high on its agenda, Farias said. “We know we can’t wait,” because other schools in those areas are “bursting at the seams. We gotta get started yesterday.”

READY KEIKI PRESCHOOL PLAN

Eleven newly renovated public school classrooms are set to welcome preschoolers for the 2023-24 school year, a year ahead of schedule. They will join 37 existing public preschool classrooms run by the state’s Executive Office of Early Learning. The state’s Ready Keiki initiative aims to gradually create 465 classrooms by 2032 to provide preschool access to all Hawaii 3- and 4-year-olds.

Schools expecting the first set of classrooms:

>> Oahu: Fern Elementary, Honowai Elementary, Kaewai Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Blanche Pope Elementary, Sunset Beach Elementary, Wahiawa Elementary

>> Maui: Hana High and Elementary, Wailuku Elementary

>> Kauai: Kilauea Elementary

>> Hawaii island: Waimea Elementary