The future campus of Kulanihako‘i High School in Kihei is shown under construction in March. The Department of Education still expects the school to open in January, even as it grapples with a dispute over its failure to build an overpass or underpass as required for the school to open. The state is building a roundabout instead but needs Land Use Commission approval to get out of its original obligation. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

The state is still pushing forward with a roundabout on Piilani Highway near the entrance to Kulanihako’i High School in Kihei, even as officials say they won’t sign off on the school’s opening until the longtime requirement to build a grade-separated crossing for students is met.

The state Department of Education still needs the Land Use Commission’s approval to get out of the requirement to build an overpass or underpass, a request that the commission rejected last year.

The roundabout, with raised at-grade crosswalks and a special traffic control system fronting the school, was a way the state had tried to appease the LUC. DOE had said it would revisit the need for an underpass or overpass as the school’s opening progressed with more students. The roundabout is scheduled to be operational in late November, the state Department of Transportation said on Friday.

“Until the Land Use Commission adopts any sort of change, our position maintains that an overpass or underpass has to be constructed before we can sign off on certificate of occupancy,” Maui County Planning Director Michele McLean said, reaffirming the department’s stance.

McLean was speaking at a meeting of the Maui County Council Planning and Sustainable Land Use Committee, which was reviewing the annual compliance report on the conditions of zoning for the school. No formal action was taken, but the committee agreed to have Council Chairwoman Alice Lee and Council Member Kelly King, whose residency seat is South Maui, work together on a resolution on the county’s stance on the issues and send it to the governor along with the DOE and DOT.

Although resolutions do not have the force and effect of law, Committee Chairperson Tamara Paltin said that in 2019, the council sent a resolution to the LUC “to hold firm” on its original decisions.

Paltin said that DOE officials were invited to Thursday’s meeting but did not respond to invitations to attend, upsetting some committee members. DOE officials on Friday did not respond to an inquiry about their absence at the meeting.

“They are anxious to open the school,” McLean told committee members. “It is obvious that the overpass or the underpass will not be constructed at that time. They are discussing options with the community for some interim measures. And my position is that those would have to be approved by the state Land Use Commission as acceptable interim measures. Meaning that an amendment to that condition will need to be adopted by the state Land Use Commission.”

“We have told them they should secure a spot on the LUC’s agenda, so they can put that proposal in front of them and have it enacted well in advance of when they want to open the school,” McLean added.

In 2013, the LUC approved a boundary amendment to allow the development of the high school. At the time, the commission required a grade-separated crossing as a condition for the school to open. Both the community and Maui County’s Planning Department have long supported it for the safety of the students walking across busy Piilani Highway to the school, which is located mauka of the highway near Kulanihako’i Street.

The DOE has tried to have the condition removed but was denied by the LUC, with commissioners saying the department could have met the requirement years ago.

DOE said in an email Friday afternoon that the department “will be working with state LUC, but after the community input is gathered and more consensus is built.”

The department announced Friday that it is seeking community input on alternatives for a grade-separated pedestrian crossing at Piilani Highway to serve the new campus.

The online survey is available at bit.ly/KiheiHScrossing and responses are requested by Sept. 13.

The DOE will also hold a community open house from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Lokelani Intermediate School cafeteria to share results from an alternatives study. More information can be found at bit.ly/KiheiHScrossing.

While the physical campus is not open, the high school did open to students this school year, with some ninth graders using space at Lokelani Intermediate School.

Plans are to have the school only open to ninth graders through the 2022-2023 school year and add one higher grade each school year thereafter through grade 12, the DOE said. At full capacity, the campus is designed for an enrollment of 1,600 students.

The DOE said it still expects to open the physical campus in January, despite the dispute over the crossing.

McLean said that in a meeting with DOE consultants, they mentioned possible interim measures they’d discussed with the community, such as busing in all students to the school and having crossing guards to escort people across the roundabout crosswalks and make sure traffic stops for them.

But at Thursday’s meeting, Kihei Community Association President Mike Moran took issue with the measures.

“Where would these magic buses and drivers come from? It seems like it’s just a false flag from DOE,” Moran said, noting the lack of bus drivers for West Maui public schools.

He also expressed his frustration over DOE’s actions, saying that for nearly a decade the DOE has “just refused” to comply with the condition.

The DOE said in an email Friday that there is no specific list of interim safety measures, but items such as flashing pedestrian-activated beacon signals and traffic calming devices will be determined by the DOT.

The study and the online survey will hopefully gather more information directly from families and the community about their specific needs, the DOE said.

McLean, meanwhile, is worried the community’s desire for a safe crossing will clash with the desire to open the school.

“One of my concerns is that even if there are a lot of people in the community that don’t want the school to open until there is a safe way for students and parents and teachers to cross, I do wonder and I am concerned there are families who want the school to open, and on their own initiative they will make sure their kids get there safely,” McLean said. “And so even though I do feel there is support from the KCA, the council, for us to hold the line like we are, it’s going to be really tough for the school to be ready to open. But I think there are families who are going to be saying, ‘I’m sick of my kid having to go to Central Maui. Come on county, sign off.’ “

“I can understand that sentiment. They have been waiting a really long time.”

McLean said there needs to be collaboration and middle ground found with the DOE, but standards should not be dropped.

“I think there are going to be compelling arguments for that school to open and we have to be prepared to find some middle ground as long as we feel that it is safe,” she said.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

The Rev. John Hau‘oli Tomoso will celebrate Holy Eucharist as Trinity Episcopal Church by the Sea’s new vicar, ...

A bill that would change the way affordable housing price guidelines are set is up for first reading at the Maui ...

WAILUKU — A woman has been indicted on charges alleging she attacked a leashed dog with a machete and threatened ...

Four campers were airlifted from Paliku Cabin at Haleakala National Park after a 9-year-old child suffered a ...

The War Memorial Football Stadium and Satoki Yamamoto Track and Field Facility will undergo field maintenance from ...

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Copyright © Maui News | https://www.mauinews.com | 100 Mahalani Street, Wailuku, HI 96793 | 808-242-6363