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Lahaina parents grill education officials on interim plans, safety

The Hawaii State Department of Education invited the public to two community meetings to meet with school principals and department leaders about school re-openings for the students displaced by the Lahaina fire.

By Cindy Ellen Russell

Aug. 30, 2023

Hawaii PhotosMaui Wildfires

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People await answers from Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi.
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Rachel Townsend advocates for children with special needs during the meeting. Townsend is the mother of a 9-year-old son who was enrolled in a special needs program at King Kamehameha III Elementary School, which was destroyed in the Lahaina fire.
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People queue before the meeting at Citizen Church in Lahaina.
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Hermoine Morales, 14, holds her cat “Rascal,” while gathering with friends at the meeting. The group are incoming freshmen at Lahainaluna High School.
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Speaking on Wednesday is Rebecca Winkie, complex area superintendent for the Department of Education’s Hana-Lahainaluna-Lanai-Molokai Complex Area.
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School principals in attendance were Jennifer Everett of King Kamehameha III Elementary School, Gary Kanamori of Princess Nahienaena Elementary School, Stacy Bookland of Lahaina Intermediate School and Richard Carosso of Lahainaluna High School.
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Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi speaks on Wednesday.
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Speaking at the meeting is community organizer and leader Ola Shaw.
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DOE employee Mercy Watanabe assisted an attendee at check-in.
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Leilani Dizon, whose family has suffered through the 2018 and 2023 Lahaina fires, questions Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashidirectly at the meeting. “You’re the superintendent right? What is your power? What are you going to do for us?”
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People live streamed the meeting on Wednesday.
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Eeight-year-old Hermaine Ganoot embraces her mother, Sarah, during the meeting.
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Richard Carosso, principal of Lahainaluna High School, speaks on Wednesday.
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The Hawaii State Department of Education invited the public to two community meetings to meet with school principals and department leaders about school re-openings for the students displaced by the Lahaina fire. The meetings were held at Citizen Church in Lahaina Wednesday morning and at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului in the afternoon.
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Leilani Dizon, whose family has suffered through the 2018 and 2023 Lahaina fires, questions Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi directly at the meeting. “You’re the superintendent right? What is your power? What are you going to do for us?”
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Sitting outside of the tent area were registered behavior technicians Chantelle Baclay and Kalani Kaaikala-Caban. The couple work with children with special needs at King Kamehameha III Elementary School, which was destroyed in the Lahaina fire. “It’s hard to think about the situation and emotions (of the students) because those of us who work in the field have all the love and happiness to give to the kids.”
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Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi listens to a parent.
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Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi tries to maintain order as people ask questions.
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Jennifer Everett, principal of King Kamehameha III Elementary School, looks on during the meeting,
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Stacy Bookland, principal of Lahaina Intermediate School, looks on during the meeting.

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