WHEREAS, population growth in the county of Hawaii in the past ten years has far exceeded the growth rate of the entire State; and

WHEREAS, the population in the Puna area on the island of Hawaii has increased fifty-one per cent in the past ten years, the highest rate of population growth in the county of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the lower Puna area is quickly transforming from a rural community to a suburban city outside of Hilo; and

WHEREAS, school-aged children constitute thirty per cent 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WHEREAS, Pahoa High and Intermediate School is one of the few combined intermediate and high schools that follow an outdated model for schools in remote rural areas; and

WHEREAS, there is heightened awareness of the unique developmental growth and needs of middle-school aged children between the ages of twelve and fourteen, which are distinct from the development and needs of high-school aged children; and

WHEREAS, the distinct needs of children between the ages of twelve and fourteen are better served with a separate intermediate and high school that have separate operations and administration systems; 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 the Department of Education is urged to plan for enrollment increases at Pahoa High and 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 the Department of Education is requested to submit a report of its findings, recommendations, if any, and progress to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

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

Report Title:

Pahoa High and Intermediate School; Growth Plan