Kamehameha Schools will close its preschool on the North Shore this summer because of structural problems with the building it leases, leaving families of about two dozen keiki to find alternatives for next school year.

Haleiwa Preschool will shut down when its lease with the Haleiwa Jodo Mission ends June 30, after 14 years at the site, said Terry Kelly, divisional director for Kamehameha’s Community-Based Early Childhood Education program.

"This was not an easy decision for us. We’ve loved being there, where it’s more than a community-based preschool, but a neighborhood-based preschool," Kelly said. "Our lease is up in June, and there’s really extensive repairs that have to be done there. There are a number of structural problems with the building. … It’s not a risk Kamehameha Schools was willing to take."

Haleiwa Jodo Mission President Ken Masatsugu said the church was informed Monday that Kamehameha would not be continuing its lease. He said the board of directors hasn’t had a chance to discuss its options, but he plans to make any needed repairs to try to keep the preschool.

"We are going to correct the problems," Masatsugu said. "We’d like to have them as our tenant; that’s income to the church."

Kelly says Kamehameha hired engineers and other experts to analyze the site.

"We did a lot of due diligence and tried to figure out what we could do to service these families," she said. "We did look for alternatives along the coast there, as far as Mililani, Wahiawa. There’s nothing available."

She said alternative sites would need to meet accreditation guidelines and licensing standards in providing an age-appropriate and quality learning environment, adding that Kamehameha wants to reopen a preschool on the North Shore in the next two or three years.

The preschool’s six staff members have been reassigned to avoid layoffs.

The school isn’t accepting new applications, but will accommodate at other sites 25 current students who plan to re-enroll next school year, including students who will be too young to enroll in kindergarten at public schools because the state is raising the kindergarten entry age.

Parents are being offered spots at four other Kamehameha preschools, with the closest option 15 miles from the Haleiwa site and the farthest 39 miles away.

Three-year-olds are being offered spots at Kamehameha’s Kalihi-Palama Preschool or Heeia Preschool in Kaneohe. Four-year-olds will have the option of enrolling in the Kalihi-Palama, Kahuku or Kahaluu programs, Kelly said. But that will mean fewer slots for other families serviced by those sites.

Pupukea resident Blake McElheny, whose 4-year-old daughter attends the preschool, said the closure stands to hurt the rural community. He and his wife, Kaliko Amona, have started a petition to try to keep the school open.

"Our son graduated from there in 2012, our middle daughter is there now, and we were hoping our youngest could attend. It’s certainly a major loss for the community to have it closed for future children and families," he said. "The school is really a source of pride for families."

McElheny said his family is hoping to get a spot at the Kahuku preschool, which is the closest option, but would still require "a major shift in coordinating transportation."

He said his family would have liked to be included in the decision-making, adding that parents and community members may have been able to help brainstorm alternatives to shutting down.

"The clear preference from parents is to look for any other options, be it emergency repairs during the summer or renting temporary space in the area," he said.