RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, population growth in the County of Hawaii in the last ten years has far exceeded the growth rate of the entire state; and

WHEREAS, the population in the Puna area has increased 50.8 percent in the past ten years, the highest population growth rate in the County of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, as of February 2005, the County of Hawaii has processed requests for 800 building permits in the Lower Puna area; and

WHEREAS, the Lower Puna area is quickly transforming from a rural area into a suburban outpost of Hilo; and

WHEREAS, school-aged children constitute 29.7 percent of the total population of Lower Puna, which is higher than the percentage of school-aged children in the total population of the state; and

WHEREAS, Pahoa High & Intermediate School is one of the few combined intermediate and high schools that follow the outdated model for schools in remote rural areas, and is the only combined middle and high school in its area; and

WHEREAS, the philosophy for intermediate school education has also changed from the past, as today there is heightened awareness of the unique growth that children experience between the ages of 12 and 14; and

WHEREAS, this philosophy may be better served with separate intermediate and high schools that have separate administrations; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Education (DOE) is urged to plan for enrollment increases at Pahoa High & Intermediate School and to plan for the possible separation of the intermediate school unit from the high school unit; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOE is requested to submit a report of its progress to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, and the principal of Pahoa High & Intermediate School.

Report Title:

Pahoa High & Intermediate School; Growth Plan