The state Department of Education on Thursday announced a plan to build an alternate classroom site for elementary school students and teachers in Pahoa who may be displaced by lava.
In a phone interview Thursday, DOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said that portable classrooms were delivered to Keaau High School on Wednesday, where they will be set up to receive students from Pahoa, should the lava threaten schools there.
“The site (located in the Keaau High lower parking lot) would accommodate at least 17 classrooms and up to 500 students and staff,” according to a DOE news release.
Dela Cruz said that work to set up the site has already begun and could be complete by the end of October or beginning of November.
“It all depends on permitting of things, but overall this will be done pretty quickly,” she said.
She added that other issues, including supplying the mobile classrooms with power and water, coordinating schedules with Keaau High, and other concerns will take time to iron out.
The DOE will cover the estimated $9 million cost of the portable units through its repair and maintenance fund.
If a federal emergency proclamation is made in response to the encroachment of lava on Pahoa, “there’s a possibility we can apply for reimbursement from the federal government,” Dela Cruz said.
There is currently no way of telling whether the temporary facility will be needed, she added, but called attention to the fact that Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists have predicted that access to Keonepoko Elementary, Pahoa High &Intermediate and Pahoa Elementary are likely to be compromised by the June 27 lava flow.
“(DOE) continues to work on contingency plans for public schools, students and staff in preparation for lava to eventually cross Pahoa’s Highway 130,” the press release stated. “The lava flow stalled Sunday on its approach toward Pahoa town. However, volcanic activity is ongoing.”
Ka‘u-Keaau-Pahoa Complex Area Superintendent Mary Correa explained that the DOE was ready to respond to the changing conditions of the June 27 lava flow.
“We are doing our best to keep a sense of normalcy in our schools, and we stand ready to adjust our operations as needed,” she said.
Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said the alternate site is necessary “in order to ensure that our teachers and students have everything ready should we lose a school. We continue to tackle a number of scenarios, and we appreciate the flexibility of our staff, the cooperation of our families, and the collaboration with Hawaii County agencies in our preparation efforts.”
Based on the expectation that access to Keonepoko Elementary, Pahoa High &Intermediate, and Pahoa Elementary will be compromised, plans are being made for students who reside north of the flow to be rerouted to the Keaau complex when the flow crosses Highway 130. Students who reside south of the flow will remain in their home schools if those facilities are not negatively impacted.
“When the lava crosses the highway, we want to make sure everything is in place in order to provide continued school services,” Correa said.
Pahoa complex currently has an estimated 1,800 students and roughly 300 employees.
Plans have been shared with parents at all three schools via letters and school meetings. Besides student planning, the DOE is also initiating plans that would guide affected employees on necessary changes. Earlier this month the DOE asked parents and staff who may have changed their residence to immediately update their contact information with school administrators.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.