This past week Andrew Beerer, Laura Marzke and Yvonne Biegel (members of the Kihei High School Action Team) met with Grant Chun the new Board of Education representative for Maui County.
The purpose of the meeting was to give Mr. Chun an overview of the Kihei High School project and get him up to speed. It was also conveyed to Mr. Chun how critical the Board of Education position is to the welfare of our public schools on the island. We operate in a state-centric school system with no local school boards. The Governor appointed BOE rep. is a volunteer position that can have major influence over DOE budgets, infrastructure, bussing and new school construction and development. The BOE rep. plays an important role as our link to the Governor’s office regarding education concerns.
The Department of Education does not have any engineers or facilities specific supervisors on Maui. The top DOE supervisors on Maui oversee school operations and administrations. Therefore the BOE rep. plays a major role in overseeing school maintenance projects and infrastructure as well as new school construction.
Mr. Chun replaces outgoing BOE rep. Welsey Lo, who resigned from the BOE after playing a critical and much appreciated role in strategizing and pushing for Kihei High School.
Mr. Chun is the CEO of Alexander & Baldwin and serves on many local boards. Mr. Chun graduated from Maui High and went on to earn his law degree on the mainland. His wife works in the enrollment office at Baldwin High School. They have two children currently in college who also graduated from public Maui high schools. Mr. Chun said he was excited to take on the BOE position and wanted to give back to the public school system.
Kihei High School Action Team with BOE Rep. Grant Chun
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Wonderful! I’m not sure if Mr. Chun has any part of this but do you know that the New Kihei High School is being voted upon by the Maui County Council to name the new School Patsy Mink High School? She was a stalwart in Education and I applaud her for that, but to name a high school in Kihei in her Honor I feel is inappropriate as she is a Maui High School Graduate and Maui High should be named after her. Kihei needs a name within it’s juridiction or Ahu Pua’a if you know what I’m saying.It is going to be located at the Kaonoulu site and so why not name it such(Kaonoulu High School or even Piilani High School. They are such beautiful names and so meaningful to the location. Please look into that. Mahalo!!
Paula Kalanikau, a Kupuna
Member of KCA