The state Department of Education announced Friday that it has not yet made a decision on a permanent location for rebuilding King Kamehameha III Elementary School in Lahaina, but is working with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and Maui County to return the original school land to them.
For over a century, King Kamehameha III Elementary was located on Front Street until the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires destroyed the site, forcing students, families, faculty and staff out of their learning environment. The school now operates from a temporary site at 100 Akahele St.
Since the school will no longer be at 611 Front St., the DOE plans to return the land to DLNR and the county.
In response to state Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi’s Aug. 19 request to withdraw Executive Order No. 222, which originally allocated the land for King Kamehameha III Elementary School under the Department of Public Instruction, Board of Land and Natural Resources Chair Dawn Chang sent a memorandum letter acknowledging the request.
The letter also explains that under Act 307, passed in 2022, ownership of the school and the land it occupies was automatically transferred to DOE.
If DOE no longer needs the land for school purposes and wishes to return it to DLNR, DOE must prepare a deed for the transfer, clear the land of any remaining structures and restore it to its original state. The DLNR also requires this clearing and restoration process even if the only action needed was to cancel Executive Order 222, regardless of any title issues.
DOE has been hosting community feedback sessions to figure out a permanent location to rebuild the fire-damaged school, but still has not reached a conclusion.
According to the department, 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 three choices presented to the community were the original location on Front Street; Pulelehua, which is near the current temporary location at Akahele Street; and Ka‘anapali 2020 — Pu‘ukoli‘i Village Mauka.
The most promising site considered for the rebuild was Pulelehua. During the meetings in May, the Pulelehua site was initially the only option that could meet the target timeline of opening within the next three to five years.
However, feedback from approximately 300 stakeholders revealed that the original Front Street location was the preferred site, with 67% of respondents in favor of it. In contrast, 54% indicated they did not support a permanent rebuild at Pulelehua, while 74% opposed the Ka‘anapali site.
Despite the preference for the original Front Street campus among meeting participants, it has been deemed unfeasible due to factors beyond the department’s control, such as the discovery of iwi kupuna during debris removal on the property, the parcel being too small for rebuilding and various environmental development requirements.
New elementary school sites need a minimum of 12 acres for development, while the original property is only about 5.5 acres. Additionally, environmental requirements such as shoreline setbacks, tsunami inundation zones and special management area regulations would be considerable.
During a county meeting on Wednesday, complex-area Superintendent Rebecca Winkie announced that DOE was also recently made aware of a possible fourth school site near Lahaina town; however, the details remain undisclosed.
“We are in the process of gathering further information to enable us to assess the potential of the site,” Winkie said in a statement. “We do not at this time have the landowner’s permission to discuss details publicly. If it becomes an option, we are committed to engaging the community to provide details and solicit input.”
DOE said it will organize a community meeting when it can present more information on what is being considered.
