Finish Kapolei Lolita Takeda said her son Alex, a ninth-grader, has been excited about going to school since he began Kapolei High School, which has pioneered new math and English programs.
High School,
crowd pleads
Some 75 attend a meeting
to stress that students
are at stakeBy Leila Fujimori
Star-BulletinBut completion of the school's second and third phases may be jeopardized by insufficient funding.
If the school should close, Takeda said, it would be "a traumatic situation for our kids," and it would hurt them educationally, socially and behaviorally. She said her son does not want to attend a different high school in another community.
"I ask all representatives and senators to think about our kids," Takeda urged Wednesday night at the Kapolei Neighborhood Board meeting.
About 75 people attended the meeting at the Campbell Estate Building in Kapolei. Parents and other community members signed letters petitioning key legislators to come up with $44 million to complete the high school.
Chairwoman Maeda Timson said the letters were in response to requests from the developer of the school and the community.
Nolan Yogi, secretary for Kapolei High School's Parent Teacher Student Association, said if funding does not come through to finish the school on schedule, the students would lose a system with new types of courses, which they began in Kapolei Middle School and would continue in high school.
Sen. Brian Kanno said it is a good sign that both the developer and the governor agree that $44 million is needed to complete the project.
But Rep. Mark Moses said $45 million was allotted for schools' capital improvement projects statewide.
The House only allotted $11 million in its budget for Kapolei High School, whereas he asked for $66 million for the two remaining phases and an auditorium.