Construction bids are being accepted for a new classroom building at Kealakehe Elementary School with an anticipated completion date of late 2024.
The Department of Education is looking for a contractor to construct the budgeted $13 million project, allowing for growth at the 53-year-old school in Kailua-Kona.
Gov. David Ige in June 2020 released the $14.9 million in capital improvement project funds allocated by the 2019 Legislature to construct the new, two-story classroom building on the kindergarten through fifth-grade campus. Design work at the time was expected to take nine months with a completion date of August 2023.
However, that date’s now been pushed back, according to the DOE’s Office of Facilities and Operations. In order to allow for time to obtain permits, construction is now estimated to begin May 30, 2023.
Work is anticipated to take about 550 calendar days and the DOE now hopes to finish the building in late November 2025.
The new classroom building will include four general education classrooms, one special education (SPED) self-contained classroom, one itinerant room, one faculty center, one conference room, and one custodial room.
The new classrooms are designed to be flexible and can accommodate a variety of grade levels.
In addition to the program spaces, the building will also include restrooms and a communications room, as well as mechanical and electrical rooms, according to the DOE.
The building will be located between the school’s cafeteria and building G.
The 7,056 square feet, two story building will be situated on a slope with basement storage planned under a section of the classroom levels.
“The project will incorporate natural lighting to minimize energy costs and high ceilings on the second floor to reduce heat retention and allow for greater ventilation,” said Derek Inoshita, a communications specialist with the state Department of Education at the time the design phase was underway. ”Parking and road access will also be improved.”
The school currently has 32 classrooms and 26 portable buildings. Approximately 800 students were enrolled in the 2021-22 school year. In recent years, enrollment was highest during the 2015-16 school year when the school’s student population registered at 1,014.
According to the school’s website, Kealakehe School was erected in 1969. Named for the area in which it is located, Kealakehe School is appropriately matched to the location. “Ala” or “keala” means “the path, road or highway; also, “ke’e” means “crooked or winding.” So, Kealakehe is “winding road.”
It was planned as a “different” school due to the circular classroom cluster building design. The first buildings included the cafeteria, the library, and buildings D and E. In 1970-71 portable classrooms 1, 2, and 3 were installed, and at approximately the same time, the administration building and building F were added.
Except for Kailua School, Kona schools were generally small and scattered. In general, there was strong feeling in the community that a bigger and more modern school was needed. Peter Kawahara served as the school’s first principal at a time when the Kona area’s population experienced tremendous growth. By 1982, it was the largest elementary school in West Hawaii.
In 1986, the K-8 school was split into two separate schools due to the large enrollment of over 1,400 students. Kealakehe Elementary, located on the original campus, included kindergarten to grade 5 serving a student population of approximately 740 students. A new school, Kealakehe Intermediate School, was established just below the elementary school and provided for grades 6 to 8.