A school consolidation task force in East O'ahu is likely to report that closing Wailupe Valley Elementary and shifting its 78 students to nearby 'Aina Haina Elementary could save money, education officials said.

The task force, which began meeting less than two months ago, is to finalize its recommendation and submit it to district officials within the next few weeks.

Wailupe is the first neighborhood in the state to get this far into the process of school consolidation. Seven other neighborhoods with small schools and declining enrollments have been listed as places where schools could be merged. The proposal has prompted pleas from communities to save their campuses.

Citing budget cuts of at least $40 million a year for the next two years, education officials in December embarked on the long and controversial process of studying consolidation of schools as a possible cost-saving measure.

Only Wailupe Valley has started its process, while other areas such as Ka'a'awa, Moloka'i and Maui are expected to begin soon.

Education officials say the cost of operating small schools has prompted them to push harder for closures and consolidation. State lawmakers have been pressuring the DOE for the past several years to deal with the rising costs of repairs and maintenance at underused schools.

A HOT LOCAL ISSUE

The issue has invoked emotional debate in communities that would prefer to see their neighborhood schools remain open. Last week, Ka'a'awa residents gathered for a community meeting regarding the possible merger of Ka'a'awa Elementary with nearby Hau'ula and Waiahole. And for several weeks, the task force at Wailupe Valley has heard pleas from parents to keep that school's doors open.

The draft of the task force's study, however, "does point in the direction that consolidation is a viable option," said Ronn Nozoe, Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani complex area superintendent.

Nozoe said the Wailupe task force's swift action is partly because the issue of consolidating Wailupe Valley has been around for many years. Wailupe Valley's enrollment has been on the decline, going from 114 just two years ago to 78 today. The school has an estimated capacity of 252 students.

"This is not a new issue for us. ... Starting this process and getting things going has perhaps been a little easier since the community is familiar. That doesn't mean it hasn't been very emotional," Nozoe said.

Janet Borja, a mother with two young children who attend the school, said that parents love Wailupe's small class sizes, which range from nine to 16 students. It's that sense of 'ohana that she fears will be lost if her children go to a larger elementary school such as 'Aina Haina, where enrollment is about 550 students.

" 'Aina Haina is a good school. But we're just afraid our kids will fall through the cracks," said Borja, who volunteers at the school and represents parents on the task force.

"I understand the economy and the declining enrollment. I just wish something could be done to save Wailupe," she said.

EARLY IN PROCESS

It's still much too early in the process to know whether any schools actually will be closed, officials say. For perspective, no school has been closed since the 1970s, but one has been consolidated under the current rules. In 1987, students from 'Anuenue Elementary were shifted to nearby Palolo Elementary. 'Anuenue later reopened as a charter school.

Current administrative rules governing the consolidation of schools say that first a task force must conduct a study on the viability of closing or consolidating a school. They then make a recommendation to the complex area superintendent, who in turn will call for a public hearing. Following the public hearing, the complex area superintendent will make a recommendation to Superintendent Patricia Hama-moto, who will then make a recommendation to the Board of Education.

A date for a public hearing on Wailupe Valley has yet to be set, Nozoe said. It will be scheduled once the task force delivers its recommendation to the district office, he said.

Board of Education members will ultimately decide whether a school is to be closed or merged with a nearby campus.

Assistant Superintendent Ran-dy Moore said it's possible the process could result in no school being closed. Regardless, he said, the current administrative rules require consolidation to be studied if schools experience serious declines in enrollment, have underused facilities or have fallen into serious disrepair.

"We should have been doing this all along," Moore said. "But it just never happened."

State Rep. Roy Takumi has been a tough critic of the Department of Education for not embarking on school consolidations sooner. For the past six years, Takumi has introduced a bill that would create an independent review panel called the Facilities Alignment Commission, modeled after the federal Base Closure and Realignment Commission. The FAC's decisions would be subject to review by the Legislature and would direct the Board of Education to proceed with the process of consolidating or closing underused schools.

Takumi, who has criticized the high costs of maintaining underused schools, said he won't introduce the bill again this year because it appears that the DOE is taking action.

10,000 FEWER STUDENTS

For the past seven years, the DOE has seen a decline of about 10,000 students, Takumi said.

"In that same seven years, we built five new schools," he said.

Takumi said he's not opposed to building new schools in areas of population growth, such as West O'ahu or parts of the Big Island. But the building of new schools should be balanced with examination of schools that have seen substantial enrollment declines, he said.

At Ka'a'awa Elementary School, parents and community members say they are going to fight to keep that school open.

Dee Dee Letts, the chairwoman of the Ko'olauloa Neighborhood Board, said the community is very attached to the school.

"People are very upset," she said. "It's a small school, but it's a good school."

A task force hasn't even been established at that school yet, but DOE officials are already hearing complaints about the process.

"The whole purpose of the task force is to gather all of the data," Moore said. "To holler before the process even begins is really prejudging the work of the task force."

Education officials have acknowledged that the cost of operating small schools prompted them to more aggressively seek closures and consolidation. Smaller schools are often more expensive because costs must be spread out among a smaller group of students.

The weighted student formula, the DOE's method for allocating resources, essentially gives money to schools based on its student population. But for smaller schools to get enough money to operate, the formula includes 30 percent or more extra money.

"Every student at Wailupe is about $12,000 versus maybe $5,000 at a larger school," said Susan Okano, principal of Wailupe Valley.

But Okano said that the educational benefits of a small school should weigh into the decision of whether to consolidate or not. "The parents really love the individualized attention that their children receive here," Okano said.

However, Christine Sorensen, dean of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa College of Education, said research on the educational benefits of small schools has been inconclusive.

"Small class sizes have been found to be beneficial for certain grade levels. ... It all depends," Sorensen said.

PLUSES AND MINUSES

Larger schools, with more teachers and more money, tend to have more educational and extracurricular opportunities than a smaller school would.

But Sorensen said small class sizes can often be beneficial for students in younger grades. Students tend to learn better when they develop relationships and are comfortable, she said. That may not necessarily be the case for older students.

Okano, who was principal at 'Aina Haina Elementary before coming to Wailupe, agreed that larger schools do have more resources, but added that at small schools, there's less of a chance students will feel left out.