The state Department of Education has started erecting a $9 million emergency school made out of portable modules that would open if lava from Kilauea Volcano crosses Highway 130 and cuts off the main route to Hawaii island’s lower Puna district.
Students from Keonepoko Elementary (360 students), Pahoa High and Intermediate (682 students) and Pahoa Elementary (480 students) who live north of the flow would be reassigned to the emergency school going up in the parking lot of Keaau High School.
In all, DOE officials expect to create 17 classrooms out of 10 air-conditioned, portable modules.
Students who live south of the flow would continue to go to their regular schools as long as the campuses are not affected by lava, said DOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz.
DOE officials on Thursday continued to ask parents to update their addresses with their schools so officials can estimate how many students live north and south of where the flow could end up.
The front of the lava flow remained stalled Thursday about 1.4 to 1.5 miles from Apaa Street/Cemetery Road in Pahoa.
"This type of situation is unusual and dynamic at the same time," Dela Cruz said. "All we can do is make sure that we’re ready. At some point, the contingency plans have to be put into effect. The priority for us is the children, the safety of our kids. Continued education for our kids was key in making these decisions."
The bulk of the $9 million for the emergency school will be spent leasing the 10 modules from Hawaii Modular Space on Oahu with the intent to purchase them, Dela Cruz said.
The money will come from $75 million that Gov. Neil Abercrombie recently released for DOE repairs and maintenance. But state officials hope that the federal government will reimburse them, Dela Cruz said.
"We believe that setting up an alternate site is necessary in order to ensure that our teachers and students have everything ready should we lose a school," schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said in a statement.
Young Bros. expedited shipping the modules from Oahu to Hawaii island and the first six arrived at Keaau High School on Wednesday. The rest are expected to arrive Friday, Dela Cruz said.
After engineers ensure that Keaau High School’s parking lot is stable for the modules, it will take about two weeks to set them up and wire them with electricity, Dela Cruz said. They could be ready for use by the end of October, she said.
School officials chose to build the emergency school out of portable modules because they "can go up fast but are structurally sound," Dela Cruz said. "We’re not actually building these buildings, so it shouldn’t take too long. It’s almost like putting a puzzle together."
Meanwhile, officials with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources on Thursday said they have closed state lands around the flow because tour groups and individuals have been "wandering onto state lands to get a better look at the lava."
DLNR officials also have closed the Wao Kele o Puna forest reserve and the Kahaualea Natural Area Reserve.
People who violate the ban on entering closed state lands face enhanced penalties of up to $5,000 for a first offense because of a proclamation that Abercrombie signed this month.
"DLNR intends to prosecute any trespassers who willfully violate the closures and place enforcement officers and emergency personnel at increased risk," DLNR Director William Aila Jr. said in a statement.
ENLARGE CHART
