West Maui teachers could eventually see housing designed for them on eight lots just off of Lahainaluna Road.

Last week Gov. David Ige released $15 million for the construction and design of public teacher housing for educators in the Lahainaluna Complex Area, which includes Lahainaluna High, Princess Nahienaena Elementary, Lahaina Intermediate and King Kamehameha III Elementary.

Randall Tanaka, assistant superintendent for the state Department of Education’s Office of Facilities and Operations, said this will be the first time in at least 10 years that the DOE will put up housing for educators.

There is already DOE housing in places such as Lanai, where the department is also working with Pulama Lana’i to create more teacher housing, Tanaka said.

He said the DOE is still mulling whether the West Maui units will be single family or duplexes.

There is no timeline yet for construction or target completion dates as DOE is working with the state Department of Transportation on transferring the lands from one department to another.

But there is already enthusiasm for the project.

State Rep. Angus McKelvey, whose district includes Lahaina, said this could set an example for similar projects on Maui and across the state, including for the new Kulanihako’i High School in Kihei.

“We got $15 million for dedicated teacher housing in West Maui that is in a convenient location to most of the schools. This could serve as a model to develop other dedicated teacher housing in other areas close to the campus where they work,” McKelvey said on Monday.

He said he’s heard from teachers about needing housing, including a Kamehameha III Elementary teacher renting at the Lahaina Crossroads Apartments where tenants reportedly were notified that they would have to vacate and that there would be much higher rents. The new owners of the apartments have since taken back those measures.

The eight lots for the teacher housing are to the right of Lahainaluna Road heading mauka and before Lahaina Intermediate School. This was part of the Lahaina bypass project that set aside land for residents who were displaced by the bypass route, Tanaka said.

He added that Ed Sniffen, state deputy director for DOT Highways, brought the parcels to DOE’s attention.

DOT has worked on transferring water meters for the properties to the DOE, according to Tanaka, who said that Maui state Sen. Roz Baker initially put in the funding request during the 2021 legislative season.

McKelvey said that he and the Maui delegation were able to secure the funds this year. He gave credit to all of the Maui lawmakers, especially Rep. Kyle Yamashita, who is vice chairman of the House Finance Committee, and Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

The governor also praised the housing project in a letter to McKelvey.

“Projects such as these are critical components of the public infrastructure and contribute to building a better home for our kupuna, keiki and all the residents of Hawaii,” Ige said.

Tanaka said the DOE has a division that manages teacher housing and will do so with this project, noting DOE employment has to be verified and that some teachers may want to pull their rents straight from their paychecks, which the division can assist with.

The Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corporation has also been involved, Tanaka added.

He said that projects such as this one will remain with the DOE, as the state School Facilities Authority is still relatively new and still in its building stages.

The authority will be responsible for all public school development, planning and construction related to capital improvement projects assigned by the Legislature, governor or Board of Education, according to the state.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.