New school in Mililani opens today; filled to capacity

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer

Steve Nakasato will head the new Mililani 'Ike Elementary School when it opens today for 680 students. The campus helps ease crowding at nearby Mililani Mauka. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser At a glance What: Mililani 'Ike Elementary School Where: 95-1330 Lehiwa Drive Phone: 626-2980

But the new campus built for 650 will be filled to capacity when its inaugural enrollment — 680 students — arrives this morning. Officials anticipate having to employ portable classrooms to handle a peak enrollment of at least 800 expected in the next three years as 450 new homes are built.

And with 1,300 students being taught at Mililani Mauka until today — nearly 50 percent over capacity — residents and area officials wonder if Mililani 'Ike should have opened sooner. Pointing to the situation involving the two schools, others in fast-growing Central O'ahu worry whether school construction can keep pace with the thousands of new homes scheduled to be built in the next decade.

"We don't have schools available when people move into their new homes," said Laura Brown, who as a member of the Mililani/Waipi'o/Melemanu Neighborhood Board had pushed to build Mililani 'Ike bigger to accommodate its projected population.

She predicted similar problems in new developments such as Koa Ridge despite a stipulation by the Land Use Commission that schools be built in a timely manner to prevent classroom crowding. Koa Ridge is a 3,600-home Castle & Cooke development, with construction scheduled to begin in 2007.

Portable classrooms needed

The Department of Education has scheduled new construction for growing communities, but there is a lag in some areas because of the state economy, said Greg Knudsen, DOE spokesman.

"We're looking at a $20 million capital improvement budget and that's not enough to build a single elementary school," Knudsen said. "We require $90 million and in the past did spend even greater than that but without a minimum of $90 million a year there's really no way to keep up with it."

Knudsen also said that portable classrooms are part of the DOE's construction strategy. That's how overflow is handled as the peak bulge of students passes through a school over the course of several years, then leaves the permanent building at its appropriate size. Otherwise the DOE is stuck with excess capacity in a maturing community that no longer needs it.

"Kids grow up, those schools lose a great number of their enrollment and you're stuck with excess capacity," Knudsen said. "That's a pretty inefficient way of scheduling it."

None of that matters today to Chris Mooney, a 9-year-old fourth-grader at Mililani 'Ike. He'll wear his dark green and white school shirt with the pueo (owl) mascot and revel in the open space, something that was in short supply at Mililani Mauka Elementary.

Mooney, treasurer for the student council, said he's most excited about the covered playing court and the newness of the Mililani 'Ike campus.

At Mililani Mauka, the Mililani 'Ike student council was always mindful that the campus wasn't theirs and was limited, for instance, in putting up posters of various activities on campus. But at the new campus, Mooney said, "We can do whatever we want."

New campus, new beginning

Preschool teacher Vera Arita settles into her new classroom at Mililani Mauka, a campus that once served 1,300 students. New schools These are the other Hawai'i public schools being built or scheduled to be built, along with their projected opening date: Nanaikapono Elementary, Nanakuli, Fall 2004 Ocean Pointe Elementary, 'Ewa Beach, 2005 or 2006 Maui Lani Elementary, Kahului, Maui, 2006 or 2007 Middle School, 'Ewa Beach, 2008 Source: DOE

And while the memory of a crowded campus is fresh in teachers' and students' minds, they look to the new campus as a new beginning.

"We're starting a legacy," said Kelly Ross, president of the school's Parent Teacher Organization. "The excitement is generated and the parents have been on fire to help make this school be all that it can be."

Families are relieved to move away from the overcrowding, and their energy level is overwhelming because of the move, Ross said, adding that she's not concerned about the expected growth and none of her friends seem to be either.

"It seems like nothing compared to when we were combined," she said. "None of my friends have raised any eyebrows that I know of."

Steve Nakasato, Mililani 'Ike principal, said the portable classrooms will handle the temporary increase but the school expects the numbers to drop back after several years. He also noted that the school, like so many being built today, is designed for multitracking but for now the school is not considering using that system.

The system allows for schools to operate on a schedule of nine weeks on, three weeks off throughout the year with three to four tracks and at least one track off at a time. It allows the schools to handle one-third more students.

Nakasato said the community was involved with planning the school, which includes small breakout rooms between two classrooms that can be used for tutoring, meetings or planning. A special-education preschool room has its own restrooms and shower, in case of accidents. Each class is wired to have four computers, and the computer lab will have about 30 computers, he said.

The school is built around a landscaped courtyard garden. Students will enter the school through the courtyard under a giant archway between the administration building and the cafeteria. The arch is repeated in front of the library that is set off by hapu ferns, moss rock and trees. On each side of the courtyard are two classroom buildings with winding hallways that open wide at the restrooms beneath a skylight.

"It's not your typical four walls," Nakasato said.

Christina Chun, a first-grade teacher at Mililani 'Ike, said teaching at Mililani Mauka was a challenge for everyone, but knowing the new school would open kept people's spirits up. Having had to share a room with another teacher last semester has given her new appreciation for having her own room.

The new school is a new beginning for everyone and offers her an opportunity to try new things.

"What it represents is a clean slate so we can mold it into what we want it to be," said Chun.

The opening of Mililani 'Ike is a relief for Mililani Mauka Elementary, too.

Carol Petersen, principal at Mililani Mauka, said her school is enjoying the less crowded conditions, which is most notable in fewer cars dropping children off.

"This morning all of the parents were saying it's so calm, so nice," Petersen said yesterday.

Petersen has 650 students but expects that number to grow as developers build 761 homes in the next three years.

"For us it's nice to be back to a smaller size and knowing we'll never have to get up" that high again, she said. "It was hard."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at 234-5266 or eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.