Kamehameha III Elementary School currently sits on leased land outside of Lahaina at a temporary site in Pulelehua. The Maui News/Megan Moseley

After multiple community meetings, surveys, and public input, the Hawaiʻi Department of Education released a report Friday showing more people prefer Ku’ia as a permanent location for Maui’s King Kamehameha III Elementary School.

In October, it was announced that Kamehameha Schools had been in discussion with Hawai’i Gov. Josh Green, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen and HIDOE to establish a permanent school location on their land in Ku’ia, Lahaina.

The school’s current temporary site is on a leased parcel at Pulelehua, several miles from the original school that was destroyed in the fire on Aug. 8, 2023.

According to the report, 485 community members – including faculty and staff, current school family members, alumni and interested community members – completed feedback surveys that were delivered at a staff and faculty meeting, two open community meetings and online.

A variety of information came from the report that was conducted by Paʻakai Communications for HIDOE.

According to the report, from May 21- 31, 291 individuals completed feedback surveys. From Nov. 19 to Dec. 3, 194 community members completed the survey.

According to the latest report from the November meeting where two options were presented, the current temporary location at Pulelehua and the new proposed location Ku’ia, 51.1% chose Ku’ia as their preferred location and only 45.7% chose Pulelehua.

According to the data, of the 194 individuals who submitted feedback, 37.4% did not support the proposed new location and 39.1% did not support the current temporary location. However, 11.5% said Ku’ia was OK, but not a top choice and 15.2% said Pulelehua was OK, but not a top choice.

The survey also assessed issues contributing to the location preference, such as distance from burn zone, traffic and emergency access, location convenience and cost.

The May feedback differed as more options were provided, including the original Front Street location and another location at Ka’anapali. Of the 291 individuals who provided feedback, 66.9% preferred the original Front Street location. Ku’ia was not an option in the May assessment.

The report also included qualitative feedback that was collected at both in-person meetings as well as via hard copy and online surveys.

According to the assessment, individuals listed cultural and historical concerns such as the desire to keep the original location or at least choose a location within Lahaina town for the school, concerns with what will happen to the Front Street location if the school is not rebuilt there and consideration for the historical significance of the name and location of the King Kamehameha III Elementary.

The original Front Street location is no longer under consideration, as officials report the land has been returned to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

There were also concerns listed about the Department of Education’s decision-making process, with a perceived bias toward the Pulelehua location and requests to slow down the process to include more community members in the decision-making process. There were also requests to put students and community over expediency and finances. These concerns were also listed in the report as being “more pronounced” in the November feedback.

The report also said only four students participated in the survey. In May, three students responded to the survey, with two preferring the Front Street location and one preferring Pulelehua.

When asked what was important about their school and what they would like to share they responded with “friends, teachers, culture and diversity.” They also said “a great playground, history, everyone feels at home like ‘ohana, and wanting it to feel like a (normal) school.”

The one student who responded to the November survey was asked to indicate their preference between Pulelehua and Ku’ia. The student checked “maybe” for Pulelehua and said they believe Pulelehua is “the safest place to build a permanent school.”

As part of its 2025-27 biennium budget request, the department requested capital improvement funds to build Kamehameha III Elementary’s future site, without specifying a selected location.

Gov. Green has included the funding request in his executive budget that will be presented to the Legislature.

Find more information at bit.ly/KKIIIReport.