ROD THOMPSON / RTHOMPSON@STARBULLETIN.COM
Students of Waters of Life charter school attended a botany class in a shade-cloth house at the school's farm on Tuesday. Standing, from left, were special education teacher John Theismann, student Kekoa Freeman, math teacher Jim Crosier and science teacher Jim Killebrew.
Neighbors of charter school
do not want it as a neighbor
KURTISTOWN, Hawaii -- Waters of Life Public Charter School is moving into an existing 9,000-square-foot building in an agricultural area south of Hilo.
The neighbors don't like it.
Among the potential problems the neighbors cite are traffic hazards, availability of water and danger to children from pesticides.
Members of the newly formed Ala Loop Community Association and their lawyers will meet with the Planning Committee of the Hawaii County Council on Tuesday seeking to prevent the school from remaining at its new site.
Neighbor Ed Torrison wears protective gear from head to toe when he sprays pesticides at his nursery. He fears the school will object to possible harm from his spraying.
"I'm afraid they may restrict my ability to take care of my hard-earned investment here," he said.
About 30 students a day visit Waters of Life's 28-acre Ala Loop school-farm on field trips. The majority of the 130 students, in kindergarten through 12th grade, attend classes miles away at the Ainaloa Community Center.
Thirty children per day is too many for the school's closest neighbor, Paul Saviskas.
"I'm a very private person," he said. "The older I get, the more private I want to be."
He's a metal sculptor and said he worries about damaging children's eyes when he does arc-welding. He knows his banging on sheet metal and loudly playing recordings of his favorite opera singer, Lily Pons, will disturb children's studies.
The community association wants county lawyers to declare that the school must obtain a variety of permits that could effectively bar it from the area.
County Planning Director Chris Yuen has determined that many permits are not required. He refers to the state law which says in part, "Schools designated as new century charter schools shall be exempt from all applicable state laws, except those regarding ... health and safety requirements."
But community association attorney Ben Tsukazaki said the school is not exempt from county zoning laws.
Waters of Life Director Libby Oshiyama says the school has been looking at the Ala Loop property for several years but it just closed the purchase in July. The school has had five homes in its four years of existence, due in part to troubles stemming from the state Department of Education not giving it the full amount of federal money to which it is entitled, she said.
The state tried to close the school in 2001 when it went more than $200,000 into debt, but Judge Riki May Amano ordered it put on probation. The school has been repaying the debt.
Meanwhile, a recent "No Child Left Behind" review of the school graded it "in good standing."
