The completely remodeled and renovated site opened with the 2009 school year and is home to approximately 167 students engaged in learning based on science, technology, engineering, math and the arts—including language arts and social studies.
The new school site combines two earlier middle school programs that were at separate locations. The Wailuku campus was focused on an arts education model, and the Maui Research and Technology Park in Kīhei location was based on a science, math and engineering educational model.
“It took a lot of vision on all of our parts to see that this could actually become a reality,” said Gene Zarro, chair of the Charter School Board of Education and president of the South Maui Learning ‘Ohana (SMLO), the nonprofit founding organization of KCS.
“We have been torn apart by budget cuts, especially these last two years,” said Zarro. “But the owners of the center wanted us here, and offered us funds to renovate and an attractive seven-year lease with two four-year options to renew.”
At that time, Līpoa Center was experiencing a 35 percent vacancy rate.
“We wanted to be in the center of town,” said Zarro. “At the charter school, we see schools as the center of a community, not strictly metaphorically, but physically. We feel our school needs to be in the center of town. The kids like it; the parents like it. The kids can take the Maui bus, bike or walk to school. Almost like the old days,” Zarro added.
The charter school was founded in 2000 and has developed a strong track record of success, including an 80 percent graduation rate of students continuing on to higher education. And this year, the school exceeded the math and language arts benchmarks required under the “No Child Left Behind” program of the federal government.
But success can be in the eye of the beholder. For Zarro and for middle school math and science teacher Peggy Temple, success for charter school students is more than the ability to pass a multiple choice test.
For Temple, a teaching veteran of 21 years, success is seeing “how the kids are extremely motivated.”
“You saw how excited and eager they were at 2 o’clock when the robotics period began,” she said. “They have studied the background on robots, and now they are learning how to create robots that will help society.”
Zarro agrees. “When the kids show up for school and love it here, love their teachers—when I hear them say ‘I love going to school’—that is how I personally define success,” he said. “They bring all their energy all the time, and education for them is a positive experience. In the end, they will know how to educate themselves and our staff encourages them to do it.”
“Overall we have 467 students and a waiting list of about 150 families,” said Zarro.
There are 180 in the high school program located at 300 Ohukai St., #209, in Kīhei, and another 120 enrolled in a K-8 Hybrid program that is a mix of adult-supervised education at home combined with extensive on-campus time for technical assistance, student socialization, teacher support and campus activities.
Yet, even a new campus, a reinvigorated middle school program and a staff of dedicated teachers and administrators cannot hide serious problems that confront the charter school and could threaten its existence.
“We are facing a potential budget deficit this year of $350,000,” said Zarro, who hopes to raise the money needed through community support and the efforts of SMLO, which supports the charter school and other community education efforts with technical assistance, small grants, facilities and other resources.
“If we can’t solve this problem, then the long-term future of the charter school in it’s current personification is questionable,” said Zarro.
The major reason for the shortfall is the school’s decline in per-student funding—from $8,149 two years ago to the current level of $5,700 per student. Zarro hopes that an additional $500 per child will be forthcoming as a result of the stimulus legislation passed by Congress at the beginning of President Barack Obama’s term in office.
According to Zarro, state funding for public and charter school students is supposed to be equal. However, by his calculations, charter school students receive about $3,000 less per student than their traditional school counterparts—a situation that Zarro calls “unconscionable.”
Despite these headwinds, KCS continues to innovate, experiment and thrive with strong community support. The school also chose to apply its furlough days predominantly to teacher planning days in order to reduce the impact on their students.
“It was the lesser of two evils,” said Zarro, shaking his head.
