Bus fees hurt
immersion program

Parents say they can no longer
afford the private cost
of busing children

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

As state Board of Education members last night set sail on a course to examine the future of the Hawaiian language immersion program, they heard that some students may be forced to abandon ship because the ride is too expensive.

Parents say they no longer can afford the cost of busing their children from outlying areas to Oahu's only public school exclusively for Hawaiian language immersion students. The total cost is $85,000.

As a result, no bus service will be available for students at the Hawaiian immersion program at Anuenue School for the upcoming school year, which begins Aug. 4.

Parents "informed me that they have no other alternative but to pull their children out of Anuenue School because they cannot pay for transportation and have no other means of transportation," said Kaimookalani Muhlstein, parent representative of Anuenue's school-community council. "We're trapped."

About two-thirds of Anuenue's 330 students will be affected by the lack of bus transportation. Muhlstein said about 10 families each with three to five children so far are considering taking their children out of Anuenue as a result of having no bus service.

The board was originally scheduled to take up a resolution that would direct the Department of Education and the board to work with groups and agencies like the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Kamehameha Schools and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in exploring Nanaikapono Elementary as a Hawaiian language immersion site for an immersion school in Leeward Oahu.

Nanaikapono School sits on land owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and pays more than half a million dollars a year in lease rent to Hawaiian homes.

The DOE is planning to build a replacement school across the highway from Nanaikapono's current site, and community members have suggested that an immersion school would be appropriate for that spot.

Before approving the resolution last night, the board added language reflecting the desire to discuss other immersion program issues, including how the school would fit in long-range, financial and operational plans already approved by either the board or the Legislature.

Board member Garrett Toguchi said the resolution is meant to spark discussion between the department and interested groups on immersion issues.

A report is due to the board by Dec. 15.

Toguchi said such a report would also help when it came time to ask for funding from the Legislature. "It shows we have a plan for expansion."

Parents said they agree with the resolution but hope it doesn't merely come up with a plan that can't be funded.

"This resolution will help open the doors, more opportunities," said Ka'umealani Walk, a parent of an immersion student and secretary of 'Aha Kauleo, the statewide Hawaiian language immersion program council.

Anuenue is considered a school of choice and therefore doesn't qualify for bus service.

A total of 216 students catch the bus at six sites in Leeward, Windward and Central Oahu. The estimated cost per child is $595 and families with three or more children in the school struggle financially to pay the amount.

Muhlstein said if bus service is stopped, students will find it easier to skip school or show up late for class.

Muhlstein asked the board to reassess its policy that prevents the school from receiving bus transportation.