A project to redevelop and upgrade the campus of Pahoa Elementary School is moving forward, nearly 10 years after $500,000 was allocated by the state in 2017 to create a master plan for the site.

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A project to redevelop and upgrade the campus of Pahoa Elementary School is moving forward, nearly 10 years after $500,000 was allocated by the state in 2017 to create a master plan for the site.

At a community meeting last month, the Hawaii Department of Education presented the plan, which includes new classroom buildings, a cafeteria building, library, playground and covered play court among other upgrades to parking lots and existing infrastructure.

The current cumulative budget for the project is $2.5 million for design and construction, according to the DOE.

Pahoa Elementary Principal Karrin Hauanio said she feels the changes will help support student education beyond what the current campus — which was primarily constructed over 50 years ago — is able to provide.

“They’re aging buildings. We have one permanent building and the rest are portables, and they’re aging, so the maintenance is difficult … .” she said. “Our kids are resilient, and so we make do with what we have. But they deserve the same opportunities and advantages as other schools, and so I think the facilities that this would provide for them would be very conducive to a better learning environment.”

The school currently serves about 350 students, but that number is expected to grow in coming years.

DOE project coordinator Romeo Gampong estimated the project will take up to 20 to 25 years to fully complete. He said it will be rolled out in phases to allow instruction to continue on the campus throughout the process.

“It’s a total juggling game,” he said. “It has to be part of every plan where, as much as possible, you minimize disruption to operations, so that’s why a lot of this phasing and sequencing is not just moving puzzle pieces easily — there’s a rhyme and a reason.”

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The first phase – which includes construction of a new preschool building and a parking lot on the north side of the campus – is scheduled to begin following the completion of the environmental assessment for the project, a process that requires opportunities for public comment on the proposed plans.

Community feedback on the plans was collected at the meeting, and the DOE accepted additional comments until May 31. A draft EA for the project will now be prepared, followed by another opportunity for public feedback.

In addition to the legal requirements, Gampong said he feels keeping the community informed and engaged is key to the success of the project.

“That’s critical,” he said. “Because if people don’t feel heard, that’s more of a complaint than the details.”

Gampong and Principal Hauanio said that, so far, the community seems to be largely supportive of the plans.

Sarah Wilkinson, a parent of three children — all of whom have attended Pahoa Elementary — was at the meeting.

“I think it’s gonna be really good for the staff and the kids,” she said. “There’s nostalgia with the old buildings and stuff like that — it’s been a kind of essential part of Pahoa for a long, long time — but, you know, it just gets to a point where it’s not safe anymore, and so I think it’s good.”

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More information about the project can be found at tinyurl.com/3xcarn85.

Email Grace Adams at [email protected]