Kailua would get a new high school on 97 acres at the foot of Mount Olomana, and the existing school site would be turned into a subdivision of several hundred homes under a proposal being considered by the Board of Education.

Developers Christopher and Kimberly Dey, under the company Sound Investments, propose to exchange parcels of land with the state and provide $70 million to build the school, BOE chairman Breene Harimoto said yesterday in announcing the plan.

Harimoto called the idea "exciting," but said there are many questions to be answered. He appointed a committee to study the plan's pros and cons, including the projected cost of repairs to the 40-plus-year-old Kailua High buildings over the next 10 to 20 years, and population needs in the area.

"On the surface, it's very attractive," said Harimoto. "We have done some preliminary research, and at this point, we feel it's prudent to give it more consideration."

Schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto called it "an idea worth exploring."

"It has merit," said Hamamoto. "It's an old school, and you've got to look at this.

"A new school that adds to the state for the 21st century is always something we have to look at. The right thing to do is consider it and do our investigation and due diligence."

UNPRECEDENTED OFFER

Few details were available on what the developers would do with the present 75-acre Kailua High site and how it might affect the town, neighboring residential areas, traffic and more.

Kailua residents have worked to keep the low-density, laid-back nature of their beach town and have turned back a number of development projects over the years.

The Deys' offer is unprecedented for Hawai'i's schools.

Developers contribute land, infrastructure and sometimes cash for new schools needed to accommodate new residential projects, but the burden still falls on the state to come up with the bulk of the money to actually build and staff new schools.

Harimoto said he is "really intrigued by the prospects this offers the department, which has been scratching for money to build and repair its schools."

The state has been plagued for years by a backlog of needed repair and maintenance work at its schools. The backlog was reported at $468 million in July 2004, and last year's legislative appropriations for repairs were far less than what the DOE said was needed to keep pace with new repairs.

"This may be a new model to go forward with schools and repairs," Harimoto told The Advertiser. "We have dilapidated schools in disrepair, and all this time we're digging for money and can't get the money.

"I'm hoping this can pan out, but I just don't know."

Though BOE members were anxious to comment on the proposal last night, Harimoto said debate would come when the plan is officially on the agenda, after the committee's investigation is complete and it reports back to the board.

Nonetheless, board member Garrett Toguchi urged the committee to consider the impact on the Kailua community of new residential growth where the high school now sits. Under current zoning, homes in this area could be built on 5,000-square-foot lots.

"If a developer goes in and builds 200 homes, it's going to be a serious impact," said Toguchi. "Frankly, I don't know why we need to move Kailua High at this time."

Harimoto said there are many issues to address, including the cost of grading and infrastructure and whether the $70 million would be sufficient.

A new school could cost anywhere from $60 million to $100 million, Hamamoto said, and if the $70 million proposed isn't enough then the department would have to look at "what do we do."

IS $70 MILLION ENOUGH?

It cost $100 million to build the state's newest high school, Kapolei High. But Kailua High serves far fewer students, less than 1,000, compared with 2,300 in Kapolei, and the cost of Kapolei included a stadium, said Hamamoto.

"My gut feeling is it ($70 million) is not enough, but we don't know," said Harimoto. "That's all part of the questions we need to answer. ... There's also talk of a new middle school. A lot of these issues will come to bear."

As well, he said, the board would have to work with the Kailua and Waimanalo communities to get their input.

The Dey family lives in Kailua and has a farm in Waimanalo — the Funny Farm — where Kimberly Dey raises and trains horses. She's the daughter of the owner of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders. The couple were involved with the Hawaiian Islanders arena football team — Kimberly as owner and Christopher as executive director and general manager. Christopher Dey also is a past associate executive director of the Hula Bowl.

Christopher Dey is primarily an Internet entrepreneur. The Kailua High proposal is the Deys' first development of this scope, although they own other commercial property in Kailua.

Wilson Ho, Waimanalo Neighborhood Board chairman, was enthusiastic about the proposal and said he saw it as a chance for the Windward side to create a high-tech school for Kailua and Waimanalo children.

"The possibilities of doing this for the Kailua and Waimanalo kids are just fabulous," said Ho. "What a blessing that a family could come up with this kind of idea and try to give back in this capacity. Bless their hearts. I just think everybody wins in this one."

But Debbi Glanstein, a Kailua Neighborhood Board member who has been advocating a second access road to the present Kailua High site, raised warning flags.

"I'm looking at the feeder areas as well," she said. "I don't see where it would serve Kailua."

EXPLORE IDEA'S IMPACT

Glanstein said BOE planners need to look at the impact this change would have in the whole Kailua complex.

"This is a system," she said. "If you tinker with one area, it will impact others. ... They really have to provide substantial justification for a new school and understanding of the potential impact on the rest of the student population in the whole Windward area. You don't do these kinds of things in isolation."

Kathy Bryant-Hunter, chairwoman of the Kailua Neighborhood Board, greeted the idea with enthusiasm and as a welcome opportunity for the community to consider.

"As a state, we're never going to have the resources we need to upgrade our schools," she said. "Unless we have creative solutions, that's the only way we're going to solve some of the educational infrastructure we need.

"At this point, it's really exciting to have something like that out there, something the community can get to talk about. We're in that wait-and-see mode and need to start the bigger-picture discussions: What does it mean? What will they do? What does $70 million get you? Does it buy a high school? I have no idea. Those are the questions — and there will be a lot more — to answer."

Bryant-Hunter said it's the neighborhood board's role to listen to the community and reflect its reactions.

"We'll be focusing more on what the community thinks," she said.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.