Kamehameha
opens first neighbor
isle campus
Chairman Kihune says he's
By Gary T. Kubota
confident the future education
of native Hawaiian children
on Maui will be bright,
Star-BulletinPUKALANI, Maui -- Bishop Estate interim Chairman Robert K.U. Kihune says he's confident the future education of native Hawaiian children on Maui will be bright, with the development of the first permanent Kamehameha Schools campus on a neighbor island.
Kihune, a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral and 1955 Kamehameha graduate, said the private school for native Hawaiians gave him an education that helped him.
"I have no doubt about it in my mind," said Kihune, who was raised in Lahaina and later on Hawaiian homestead land in Papakolea, Oahu.
The new school held a dedication ceremony yesterday.
The new campus, which will eventually accommodate up to 200 students from kindergarten to eighth grade, is located at the 1,600-foot level of Haleakala, above Pukalani Heights.
A little more than 150 students have moved from their temporary facilities in Pukalani to the new school.
After the eighth grade, students may transfer to Kamehameha High School at the Kapalama campus on Oahu and become student boarders.
The price of attending the school, including tuition, meals and fees, is about $1,200 a year. Much of the cost of operating the school is paid by the Bishop Estate, founded by the late Bernice Pauahi Bishop to further the education of native Hawaiian children.
The school also offers financial assistance and scholarships.
Kihune gave credit for the development of the new campus to former trustee Marion "Lokelani" Lindsey.
Lindsey, who was removed as a trustee by Oahu Circuit Judge Bambi Weil in May for breach of fiduciary duties and mismanaging Kamehameha Schools, did not receive an invitation to be at the ceremonies.
She came as a guest of her two grandchildren who attend the school.
"I love Kamehameha," said Lindsey, who has denied any wrongdoing.
"Despite all this happening, it is a good place for the kids to be. It's a dream come true."
Maui Mayor James Apana, a 1980 Kamehameha graduate, said with more equipment and teachers who undergo a performance review regularly, the school offers students the opportunity to get a good education.
"Many of the successes in my career and life can be directly attributed to my experiences as a boarder attending the Kamehameha Schools," Apana said.
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