Citing a steady decrease in student enrollment over the last decade, the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education has started discussions about reviewing public school campuses for potential consolidation.

According to the department, the review of school campuses follows the guidelines set forth in the Hawai’i Administrative Rules that govern the process for determining whether schools should be consolidated.

The process includes careful consideration of factors such as enrollment trends and the ability of neighboring schools to accommodate students, the physical condition and usage of school facilities, and operating costs and potential financial savings.

Department officials say they will spend this spring engaging with stakeholder groups and gaining feedback on its process before beginning data collection to identify schools.

Schools are not being identified at this time for the study. The proposed timeline presented to the Board of Education shared that schools would potentially be identified in the fall after official enrollment counts were completed.