CEO Shares Mana’o on Makaha Land Transaction with Wai’anae Community

July 13, 2011

Contributed by Thomas Yoshida

You have heard from our Trustees, our Ka Pua team and me that our commitment to the families of the Wai'anae Coast is unwavering; we are now looking for other sites for the facilities envisioned for the Kamehameha Schools Learning Community.

In a recent two-page advertisement in Westside Stories, Mr. Stone tells his story. I agree with Mr. Stone that the process of planning was a true collaboration, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to benefit the entire Wai'anae Coast community, and that all of us felt an extreme sense of satisfaction. I do not question the goodwill of any of us in seeking ways to work together on Mr. Stone's Mākaha lands. I regret that it did not work out.

There are, unfortunately, parts of Mr. Stone's story which are misleading regarding Kamehameha Schools' commitment that I must address with you, given his very public statements and the chance that some in our community may now doubt our commitment to the haumāna – students - and their families of the Wai'anae Coast. Nothing could be further from the truth.

My hope is that my selected comments below will clarify our story and allow all of us to move on with the goodwill that still exists and the actions needed to move forward.

• Kamehameha Schools did not offer "new" conditions to Mr. Stone.
  Kamehameha Schools has been prepared to close twice on its 67-acre gift, as early as February 2011 and as recently as June 30, 2011, under terms agreed to by the parties. Those terms are: 1) The Learning Community would carry the Stone family name, 2) The land would be restricted to activities that fulfilled Kamehameha Schools' mission, and, 3) Kamehameha Schools aspired to spend $10 million over 5 years or $25 million over 10 years on the build-out of the learning community.

  We committed to beginning with an early education facility, which included preschool and family child interaction programs as well as facilities to train and develop early learning teachers in the community, all to support the growing Hawaiian communities on the Wai'anae Coast. This was not an end, but rather a beginning, which the agreement with Mr. Stone left to our discretion. In our ongoing meetings with Wai'anae Coast communities, support for keiki and the need to provide teaching career opportunities for community members were wholeheartedly affirmed.

  When we find new sites to build learning facilities, we will continue with these plans that grow from our work with the community.

   

• The Mākaha gift does not drive Kamehameha Schools' Ka Pua vision.
  Mr. Stone implies that the KS Learning Community at Mākaha drives Kamehameha Schools' "Ka Pua" vision. That is not true. Our discussions with Trustees about "Ka Pua" began in 2007, and in 2009 the Trustees formally approved the entire Ka Pua plan, including a directive to find land to build learning facilities on the Coast. Kamehameha Schools' Ka Pua vision includes building and supporting quality education through the Coast's community schools, linking to community services that care for children and families, and investing in programs and facilities that strengthen this vision. This vision is not driven by one site but rather by partnerships and investments across the Coast.

  We are already underway with Ka Pua, through our support of the Coast's community schools and discussions with community organizations to link services. Some recent examples include:

  • Implementation of an early childhood initiative (called P-3), in collaboration with early learning providers on the Coast, to expand quality early learning programs to children and their families.
  • Literacy support and coaching in the elementary and middle schools
  • Leadership, instruction, and accreditation support and funding for both charter schools on the Coast.
  • Daily after school learning and enrichment activities for students at both DOE middle schools.
  • Funding and support for Year Two of the New Tech Academies at Nānākuli and Wai'anae high schools, where student-centered, project-based learning is transforming how students are taught and preparing them for 21st century lives and opportunities.
  • Active participation and support for DOE Race to the Top planning and implementation
  • Integrated opportunities for 'āina-based learning, internships, and college and career readiness, including discussions with the DOE and the UH system to provide early college preparation and readiness in the middle schools and college credits and acceptance well before students graduate.

  And now, given the termination of the Mākaha gift, we are working with community providers and others from the Coast, including DHHL, to find, design and define the best location – or even multiple locations – for the Kamehameha Schools' Learning Community.

  It is a blessing to work alongside collaborators with such a passionate commitment to their community, who appreciate our mission and share our values. Without compromise, we will continue to move forward on all parts of our Ka Pua vision.

   

• The entire Kamehameha Schools learning community was not intended to be built first.
  Mr. Stone also asserts that KS' learning facilities need to be built before a DHHL community would be developed in the Mākaha Valley, stating that the learning community was to drive the homestead. In early meetings with the community, DHHL and Kamehameha Schools always shared the vision of a learning community in Mākaha as one we would not do separately but together, as a "double hulled canoe". The vision is one of an integrated community, which KS remains fully committed to achieve.

  This vision has not changed as we work with DHHL to look for new sites on the Coast.

All three parties - Mr. Stone, DHHL and KS - have spent more than a year trying to finalize this transaction, with the last month being particularly trying. The expectations and readiness to move ahead by all parties have varied and have unfortunately been misstated publically. It is time to end this story and move on with the more important one – a fulfillment of dreams on the Wai'anae Coast. Those dreams are not owned by anyone but by all. Fulfillment is what we all work for now.

Me ka ha'aha'a,

Dee Jay Mailer, Chief Executive Officer
Kamehameha Schools