An $8 million two-level classroom building and outdoor learning area is being proposed for Princess Nahienaena Elementary School to accommodate enrollment growth in West Maui, according to the state Department of Education.
In a draft environmental assessment published in the Office of Environmental Quality Control’s “The Environmental Notice” on Friday, the DOE said that the only other Lahaina-area elementary school, King Kamehameha III, does not have any more space to expand and has been sending its overflow students to Princess Nahienaena.
Department of Education spokesman Brent Suyama said Friday that the current enrollment at Princess Nahienaena is 720. According to online DOE reports, Princess Nahienaena has seen increased enrollments in the past few years. In the 2010-2011 school year, there were 607 students; in 2011-2012, 643 students; and in 2012-13, 704 students.
Construction of the new building is expected to begin in April 2017 with completion by summer of 2018 – in time for the 2018-19 school year. Suyama said $825,000 has been appropriated for design and $7.3 million for construction.
The new building would be located in an undeveloped section of the school at the uppermost area on the campus. The building is designed to be L-shaped, with a ground-level footprint of 10,067 square feet. The ground floor would contain four general classrooms, an art/science room, boys and girls restrooms, a faculty restroom, two separate stairways, an elevator, an electrical room, a communication room and storage areas.
The second floor, also about 10,000 square feet, would include two general classrooms, a computer center, a faculty center and conference room, faculty restrooms, an electrical room, a communication room and a storage room.
The computer center and communication rooms would be air conditioned. All other spaces would be naturally ventilated and augmented with ceiling fans.
A “hale,” or detached structure, would be built on the western end of the outdoor learning area. The hale would provide a covered outdoor classroom as part of an outdoor learning area. This “classroom without walls” has a floor area of 300 square feet.
The state Education Department, which has reviewed the draft environmental assessment, anticipates a finding of no significant impact for the project. As noted in the assessment, the site contains only common plants and animals and no significant archaeological resources.
There are no streams, ponds or wetlands and the existing water and wastewater systems can accommodate the proposed classrooms, the assessment said.
The assessment noted that while the proposed building is at the back of the school, work at times may disrupt traffic. To minimize the impacts, notices would be posted, and work involving the driveway would be scheduled to avoid student dropoff and pickup times.
The draft environmental assessment can be found at health.hawaii.gov/oeqc/. Deadline for public comments is May 9.
The consultant on the project is Gerald Park. He can be reached by email at gpark@gpup.biz or at (808) 625-9626.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
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