WHEREAS, the estimated population of West Hawaii from Kapaau to Captain Cook is sixty-three thousand people; and

WHEREAS, the current operations of the Hawaii Community College are located in a shopping center under the ownership of three different landlords; and

WHEREAS, the current shopping center classrooms are located at the southern point of the service area where distances and traffic congestion affect student enrollment; and

WHEREAS, workforce development is essential to the future of our local communities; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Community College, as an instrument of reflection and change, is an agent for change guided by community-identified cornerstone values serving and benefiting our island community; and

WHEREAS, the mission of Hawaii Community College is to provide the community with a responsive educational environment as embodied by our guiding principles, which empowers learners to develop skills and knowledge to be responsible and productive in a complex world; and

WHEREAS, in comparison, the estimated population of Kauai is sixty-two thousand people and Kauai has its own community college compound; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that this body urges the University of Hawaii to pursue the design and planning of a two-year community college campus in West Hawaii on the University lands in North Kona; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Regents and the President of the University of Hawaii are urged to include in the University of Hawaii budget the development of the West Hawaii Community College Campus; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the University of Hawaii and the Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii.

Report Title:

West Hawaii College Campus