Schools facing space crunch
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
After the computer lab overtook the conference room and the counselors moved into a portion of the library, the space crunch at Kauluwela Elementary School came to the principal's office.
Almost daily, Principal Gwendolyn Lee gives up her desk so confidential meetings can be held between special-education students, parents and teachers. On the rest of the campus a divider splits the classrooms down the center so twice as many students can squeeze into the same area.
Lee jokes about the uncertain future of the principal's office.
"I have to worry that my office is going to be a classroom soon," Lee said. "We use any little corner we have. We're teaching in every nook and cranny."
Overcrowding has hit schools across the state as they try to cope with swelling populations, older campuses not built for growth and the increasing demands of the Felix consent decree, which has added staff and services to schools as the state struggles to improve special-education services demanded by the federal court.
While some older schools on Windward O'ahu as well as East and Central Honolulu have campuses that have stretched beyond their physical abilities, on the Leeward coast of O'ahu, schools are contending with booming growth.
Even new schools are finding themselves over capacity within a few years. Some are going to year-round, multi-track scheduling so that only 70 percent of their students and teachers are in session at any one time.
Statewide, the need for more classroom and learning space has far outpaced the money available. Department of Education officials estimate that Hawai'i schools will need $1.2 billion in capital improvements during the next 10 years. That includes major renovation projects and constructing new classroom space in areas of growing population such as Kapolei and Maui.
There's also a $621 million backlog of basic repair and maintenance work on the public school campuses. Many times, projects such as new roofs and termite treatment can languish for years or decades before being completed.
Some of the most difficult changes schools have had to deal with are the additional services and staff members needed to improve the quality of special education in Hawai'i to comply with federal law. For the first time, services once delivered by the Department of Health are now handled by the schools.
The DOE has increased its team of special-education teachers, psychologists, social workers and behavioral health specialists from fewer than 3,000 to 6,400 in the last five years.
"For some schools it's just one or two additional bodies," said Hazel Sumile, Leeward District superintendent. "For others schools there are several psychologists, student service coordinators and behavioral specialists. Some complexes have decided to house the teams in one central office for all of the schools, but then you have a number of people coming into one campus who weren't there before. You lose office space and meeting space. Parking spaces are also an issue."
Schools have learned to cope, though, because they recognize the importance of those new staff members, Sumile said. "The bottom line is that they are providing help to the kids. The schools are doing everything they can to accommodate the services."
School staff members are having to double or triple up on office space. Storage closets and teachers lounges are being taken over by desks. In the Leeward District, Sumile said, year-round, multi-track schedules have been the solution for some schools that have seen a population growth at the same time that more staff members have been added.
The 4-year-old Waikele Elementary School campus was designed specifically for multi-tracking. Teacher files and storage cabinets have wheels so they can be rolled into storage when they go on break and another teacher goes into the classroom. Central areas between pods of four classrooms give students a chance to work with those from another grade and let teachers have room for temporary storage.
The school has 820 students this year. Next year it will have 900. And in 2003, the year-round scheduling will start to relieve the impending over-capacity crowding. At any given time, 30 percent of the teachers and students will be on break, while the other 70 percent are in the classroom.
Principal Diane Matsuoka said a close relationship with the area's developers has given the school a chance to plan for the population growth and warn parents about what is coming. The schedule will allow the maximum use of the school space at the same time it saves the state money by not requiring additional buildings, she said.
"Our community and parents have expected the multi-tracking from the beginning," Matsuoka said. "We've been talking about it for going on four years. Every year we do an orientation on it with our new parents.
The school has promised parents that all siblings will be placed on the same track, eliminating worries about having children out of school at different times of the year.
But Matsuoka said the multi-tracking probably won't work for every campus. The architects who designed Waikele knew about the long-range plans for the school when they were first hired for the project.
"We've been able to plan for it and design our own campus." Matsuoka said. "We know how lucky we are."
Multi-tracking is in its second year at Holomua Elementary School and will start next year at Kapolei Elementary and Middle schools, Sumile said.
"They're using every bit of space right now," Sumile said. "The schools have been really creative about finding spaces for people to work in, and they haven't had the luxury of converting spare classrooms into office spaces."
Even schools with declining enrollments have had to deal with space issues.
At Enchanted Lake Elementary School, where enrollment has fallen over the last several years from nearly 500 students to about 420 students, every available space is being used, Principal Carole Kuwahara said. The school's Felix support staff is being housed on another campus because Enchanted Lake is out of room.
"We are using all the space that we have," Kuwahara said.
The crowding leaves little room for extra programs across the state.
At Kauluwela, the campus has been fortunate enough to receive additional money. That has allowed the school, for example, to hire a music teacher and an extra teacher who can help relieve the large class sizes in the third grade. With 60 percent of its students bilingual, the school's program for English as a second language also has grown.
"It's not only the enrollment, it's the programs," Lee said. "The programs come with positions. You've got to house them some way."
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
