Oahu's public schools are getting too crowded, according to the Honolulu Star Bulletin's article, "Crowds on campus." But at the same time, other public schools are too vacant and being closed down, like Queen Liliuokalani Elementary School in Kaimuki ("BOE committee recommends closing Liliuokalani Elementary"). It seems like Oahu's public schools need to make some serious changes to fix their abundance of problems.
I noticed that most of Hawai'i's largest high schools are in West Oahu, while elementary schools that the state is looking to close down are in East Oahu. Perhaps one of the reasons for this trend is the housing price differences in these areas and the resulting demographics. East Oahu homes are generally more expensive than West Oahu homes, and many young parents (and young adults in general) cannot afford to live in East Oahu. I know that in my neighborhood in Hawaii Kai, there are almost no young children; most of us are in college, working and still living at home, or have already moved out. And I don't think my neighborhood situation is uncommon for East Oahu. Because many young adults cannot afford to live in the East Oahu neighborhoods, there are not as many children at the schools in this part of the island - the majority of the children are in West Oahu, the more affordable part of the island. Furthermore, families that are pretty well off (those who can afford to live in East Oahu) typically send their children to private schools, not neighborhood public schools - this perpetuates the trend of less crowded East Oahu schools and more crowded West Oahu schools.
I don't foresee real estate prices and the demographics of Oahu's neighborhoods changing significantly anytime soon. Hawai'i's Department of Education and Board of Education need to figure out a way to improve the public education system for Hawai'i's children. Easy enough to say, but much more difficult to achieve...
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Update April 20th, 3:51 pm
Continued conversation - Editorial response to "Crowds on Campus" in Wednesday, April 20th's paper:
"Flexibility key to schools growth"
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