Namahana School Secures Permanent Site in Kīlauea Town

Campaign to Purchase Property Surpasses its Goal, Thanks to Swift Community Action

PRESS RELEASE, AUGUST 1, 2023: Over the course of two months, Namahana School raised $1.4 million in community donations to secure an 11.3 acre parcel in Kīlauea Town for its future campus. The fundraising campaign, launched in early May, was an ambitious bet for the public charter school, which plans to welcome its first cohort of students in fall 2025.

“When we learned of the opportunity to purchase this property, we were overjoyed by the idea of a campus that would be ours in perpetuity,” said Namahana Education Foundation Executive Director Melanie Parker. “We also knew that raising the necessary funds in such a short period of time would be a real test of our capacity. The last few months have been astonishing and humbling, and we are deeply honored by all the people who helped us secure the Kīlauea site as a permanent home for Namahana School.”

The $2.1 million property, which is on the future main access road to Kīlauea from Kūhio Hwy, was offered to the school on the condition that at least $1.1 million be secured in cash by June 9. This demanded that Namahana Education Foundation, the nonprofit organization that oversees fundraising for the school, move into high gear to raise the sum in time. The campaign received a major boost when an anonymous donor presented a matching gift challenge to reach the $1.1 million minimum, which galvanized a large number of other donors. Now that Namahana Education Foundation has secured the property, it will finance the remaining purchase amount. This will help to build the organization’s credit for future financing and focus efforts on the next phase of the school’s facilities construction.  

To kick off the foundation’s next fundraising initiative, Mike Kaplan and Rose Contreras, who generously supported the school initiative in the past, have offered a match gift of $500,000 in unrestricted funds to motivate others to support Namahana School’s pre-opening needs. The match gift campaign will go through December 31, 2023, and all subsequent gifts raised up to $500,000 will be matched dollar for dollar.

“We’ve been watching closely from the beginning as this inspiring project has evolved, and we know just how much it will lift up our community,” said the donor couple, who are longtime Kīlauea residents. “Having an accessible middle and high school for local children is a goal that has mobilized North Shore families for years, and we believe that Namahana has the perfect team to make it happen.”  

“Words cannot express how grateful we are, on behalf of all our future students and families, to each and every individual who stepped forward to support us on this campaign,” said Namahana Education Foundation Board Member Lorri Mull, who was instrumental in nurturing Namahana School through its earliest stages as chair of the Kaua‘i North Shore Community Foundation’s Education Committee. “Because of their trust, we now have a permanent home for Namahana – a huge accomplishment for a charter school still in its pre-opening phase. We now encourage everyone who believes in the future of Namahana School to help us meet this generous match gift so that our doors will be open in the fall of 2025.” 

Now that this major milestone has been reached, Namahana School is focusing on critical next steps to develop its campus. Pending approvals from the County of Kauaʻi, it will apply for a special use permit, for which it must demonstrate community support through a public hearing. School leadership is also working with the Honolulu architectural firm Group 70 to finalize campus design for the new site. Temporary facilities will be the first set of constructions in a sequential buildout that will require a dedicated long-term campaign of its own.

“The creation of a middle and high school for local children on the North Shore has long been a need in our community,” said Kīlauea resident Līhau Paik. “There is so much about this project that excites and inspires me, both as a Kīlauea resident and a parent of two young children. I think the team that has been assembled to build Namahana is exceptional and I look forward to supporting their efforts to elevate educational opportunities available for our keiki.”