The University of Hawaii Board of Regents approved on Wednesday a $32 million sale of land next to UH-West Oahu to the Roman Catholic Church, which plans to build a church and a private school that one regent called "Maryknoll West."

UH will use proceeds from the sale of the 39-acre site to cover some of the startup and operating costs for UH-West Oahu. The money could also be used to finish construction of the first phase of the college campus, including a $6 million administration building.

Some of the proceeds might also go into an endowment, which could be used to pay for ongoing operating costs.

Marlene De Costa, director of real estate for the church, said the Catholic community in West Oahu has been asking for a new church and school in the region for a long time.

"We do know that there is a demand," De Costa said. "The first step is to get the land."

A new K-12 school may eventually serve more than 1,400 students and could grow to become the largest Catholic school in the state, both in campus size and enrollment, De Costa said.

De Costa said the church also envisions building a parish to serve 1,000 to 1,500 parishioners.

The sale has yet to be finalized and there is no construction schedule yet. The church also has to obtain financing and get a conditional use permit from the city before it can start building.

The purchase price for the 39 acres is about $12 million. The church has agreed to also spend up to $20 million to build infrastructure — roads, sewers, electricity and water lines — on the site, located on Farrington Highway between UH-West Oahu and the Kapolei golf course.

UH-West Oahu Chancellor Gene Awakuni said the infrastructure development will help the university to sell or lease other adjacent lands to the campus.

He called the sale a win for the campus, the church and the community.

"For the community, they get a K-12 school like a Maryknoll, which I imagine would be highly desirable for the residents of the west side," Awakuni said.

He said the university and the church are talking about having education students from UH-West Oahu do student teaching at the new Catholic school, and students from the new high school taking Advanced Placement classes at UH-West Oahu.

"We believe there is a tremendous benefit to the university to have a school of that kind near the university," Awakuni said.

Councilwoman-elect Kymberly Pine said a new school in Kapolei would create jobs for teachers, could reduce overcrowding in public schools and, most importantly for the community, reduce traffic.

"You notice the difference in traffic into town when private schools are not in session," Pine said.

Some of her constituents drive their kids to school in town in the morning and then drive back to their jobs in West Oahu, she added.

Pine says there is a large demand for private school education in her district.

About 40 percent of the students who attend Maryknoll are not Catholic, Awakuni said.

UH-West Oahu has been negotiating with the church for two years and recently signed a letter of intent.

The regents passed the proposal in a 12-2 vote, but some had reservations about the sale.

Regent Jan Sullivan said she’s concerned about relying on sales of UH land to pay for operating costs at UH-West Oahu.

"I question the wisdom of this and I think it’s the wrong thing to do," said Sullivan, who voted against the plan. She asked her fellow regents and the administration to take another look at the financial plan for UH-West Oahu.

Regent Michael Dahilig noted that selling land to finance the construction of the campus was part of the original business plan when regents approved the development of the new campus in 2007.

"The quality education that these types of places provide, you can’t measure it, but it’s a synergy," he said, adding that St. Francis and other private schools are near UH-Manoa.

"It’s not residential homes," he said. "It’s a service to the community that we are trying to build out there."

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CORRECTION: The Board of Regents voted 12-2 to approve selling University of Hawaii land near UH-West Oahu to the Roman Catholic Church, with Jan Sullivan and Coralie Matayoshi voting no and Ben Kudo recusing himself. An earlier version of this article said the vote was 14-1, with Sullivan as the lone dissenter.