Proposed Commission Could Close Smaller Schools
HONOLULU — A plan that could lead to closing some public schools through a new commission is gaining support at the state Capitol, where legislators said they are frustrated by a lack of action by the school system leaders.
Wailupe Valley School, tucked behind Aina Haina in an aging neighborhood, that currently has only 88 students.
“It’s a really good school because it’s a small school, so there’s a lot of attention for the kids,” parent and Wailupe Valley School alumnus Ross Watanabe said.
Principal Jean Hartman said she’d like to have more kids, but few people outside the valley know about the school.
“We’re not on the main track, and people don’t drive by us and know that we are up here,” Hartman said. “Wailupe Valley School has been targeted for closing several times over the decade, but it was stopped every time by parents and the community standing up to protest.”
To make it easier, House Education Chairman Roy Takumi proposed having an independent commission review all public school facilities and recommend changes — including school closures — in a single package which lawmakers could either accept or reject, which is like what happens with underused military bases.
Hartman said it should be better used — not closed.
“What’s lost to the greater community is that the greater community has a choice,” Hartman said.
But lawmakers said realigning schools is a necessary decision that has been put off for too long, and if the Department of Education won’t do it, they said they will.