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Well, the South Maui high school is now scheduled to have its first phase of construction completed in 2022.
The school will be populated one class per year until it is fully functional. Assuming that freshmen will be entering in fall 2022, that would make the Class of 2026 the first graduates of the new school.
A little over a quarter of a century after the need for a high school in South Maui was identified, there could be students emerging with diplomas from the long-imagined institution within the next decade.
There's still a bit of an if, though:
The budget that includes $63 million for the school still has to be approved by both houses of the Legislature and signed by Gov. David Ige.
It is hard to imagine the funding could be derailed at this late date, but nothing has come easily in the progress of building this school.
It should be noted that the $63 million in the proposed budget and the $38 million in last year's budget will still leave the school some $31 million shy of the $132 million the Department of Education says it will take to complete the project.
Maui's legislative team will need to be diligent and alert in the next couple of sessions to make sure the funding is appropriated to finish the school.
* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.