Meeting to open discussion on Keanae School

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KEANAE - The first official public meeting on the fate of Keanae's one-room schoolhouse gets under way Thursday.

Hana High and Elementary School Principal Rick Paul, who is a member of a task force charged with making a recommendation on a possible school consolidation, said that he cannot see how closing the Keanae campus permanently can be avoided.

Keanae kupuna Aileen Lee said that she cannot accept the school's closure and is rallying her neighbors, friends and relatives to get behind a petition calling for the school's re-establishment.

"I feel the safety and well-being of the children should be first in their education," says Lee's petition. "With happiness, education comes faster and easier."

Lee said that Keanae families still believe their children's health and safety are at risk when they have to ride a bus five days a week on a narrow, winding road. Heavy rainfall and other road hazards often involve sudden stops and starts.

The children riding into Hana have to catch the bus by 6:30 a.m., and they don't return until 4 p.m.

"Our kids get tired, and they're just not wanting to go to school at times," Lee said.

And so the arguments over consolidating Keanae with Hana School on a permanent basis will be discussed from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday at Keanae School. Members of the Task Force to Study Consolidation of Keanae and Hana schools will meet for the first time on the issue.

Those traveling to the Keanae School meeting should note there will be intermittent traffic stops along Hana Highway between Milepost 19 (near the Wailua Lookout) and Milepost 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. as only single-lane traffic will be allowed while rock-scaling operations and debris removal is conducted. From 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the same stretch of roadway will be shut down completely for the same road work.

For more information, call the state Department of Transportation Highways Division at 873-3434.

Thursday's task force agenda includes the introduction of the task force members, the group's purpose, adoption of rules for procedure and discussion and action on a proposed draft report for the Board of Education. The policy-making panel will be involved in rendering a decision on whether the schools should be consolidated.

Public testimony will be accepted at the meeting, according to Randy Moore, the state Department of Education's assistant superintendent at the Office of School Facilities and Support Services.

Keanae School technically remains open, although classes have not been conducted on the campus since late 2005 when only three students were enrolled at the school. Since then, Keanae students in kindergarten through 5th grade have made the 16-mile, one-way trek to Hana High and Elementary School.

The issue of closing Keanae School surfaced earlier this year as state Department of Education officials discussed possible cost-cutting measures in light of declining state revenues and a call by Gov. Lingle Lingle's administration to find ways to reduce state expenses.

Education officials have already agreed to shut down Wailupe Elementary School on Oahu and are eyeing possibly closing Maunaloa Elementary School on Molokai.

There have been a few instances in the last two decades in which education officials tried to shut down Keanae School, but backed off after residents protested.

This time, Paul said Keanae School fits all the criteria written in the rules regarding public school consolidations. These include that:

* One third or more of the square footage in the existing facilities requires replacement or improvements to meet prescribed standards.

* Enrollment decline and staff reductions have or will reduce the capability of the school to provide the range of educational opportunities offered at adjoining schools with larger enrollments. (An adjoining school - Hana High and Elementary - would be able to accept increased enrollment without substantial spending for additional facilities.)

Paul said he's most concerned that a single teacher for fewer than 10 students in varying grades could meet all the prescribed standards and academic requirements.

He said he's also concerned about whether the current Hawaii Department of Education budget formula based on pupil enrollment could cover the expenses necessary to keep Keanae School operational.

"If we're struggling at Hana School, how is a smaller school going to do that?" Paul asked.

"They can't do a quality program," Paul said, plus serve all the students' needs and academic requirements.

* Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.