Superintendent Hayashi recommending Aug. 8 closure for Lahaina public schools

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​The Hawai'i State Department of Education is recommending to the Board of Education that a waiver be granted to modify required school days and student hours to allow for a one-day closure on Aug. 8, 2024, for King Kamehameha III Elementary, Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary, Lahaina Intermediate and Lahainaluna High schools.

The closure would allow employees and students to participate in commemorative events and healing activities on the one-year anniversary of the Lahaina wildfires.

The waiver requires Board approval and will be considered at a special meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 18, 2024. Lahaina schools have notified families and staff of the recommendation.

In a memo to the Board, Superintendent Hayashi explained that the recommendation is being made in consultation with Lahaina school leaders, in respect of the significant impact of the wildfires, and to provide the opportunity to honor and remember the people and places lost. If the BOE should approve the waiver, the Department would grant salaried school employees a paid administrative leave day on Aug. 8, 2024.

The Department's recommendation and more information about the special meeting are posted on the Board's website at: https://boe.hawaii.gov/Meetings/Notices/Pages/July-18,-2024-Special-Meeting.aspx.