Most
of the families had two or more children. They chose the resort
neighborhood near the beach because the amenities and quiet lifestyle seemed
perfect for their family. They assumed that the large upscale
housing communities along the coast would have great schools nearby. But
the reality is, in spite of thousands of acres of million dollar homes and
condo complexes, very few people actually live here full time. Most
of the houses and condos are third and fourth homes of older wealthy people
that visit only occasionally on holidays. We watched the few
children here leave early, 6:30AM, and get dropped off by bus in the late
afternoon. The closest elementary school is up on a hill, about 15 miles
away. The public high schools are much farther. The closest high school
is Kealakehe, 30 miles south in Kona about a 40 minute drive by car and
longer by bus. The other option is in Honoka’a about a 50 minute drive to
the other side of the island.
After
the initial thrill of wearing sandals and shorts to school wears off, students
and their parents learn about the tensions in the public schools on the
island. Though Pahoa and Keaau high schools in Puna have the most cases
of violence and serious misconduct, Honoka’a and Kealakehe have problems as
well. Last year Kealakehe High School was closed for a couple of days after tensions between groups of Polynesians escalated into a huge brawl among the students. The number of offenses at Hawaii Island public high schools over the past 5 years was published by the Hawaii Department
of Education after an open records request. The
schools are not like the mainland, where students represent nearby
neighborhoods often with similar social and economic backgrounds. The
size and low population on the Big Island means that high schools serve students
bused in from large geographic areas with different social, racial, and
national backgrounds. There are several highly rated private schools,
which are also over 30 minutes to drive up to Waimea. They are
quite pricey especially for families with several kids. Annual
high school tuition at HPA is $22,000 and Parker School is $13,800.
Living a far distance from other students in school adds to the
difficultly of finding new friends.
The
parents we met had not realized how important regular contact with their family
and friends were to them until they moved. One mother who had lived in the same
town her whole life and was sure it would be wonderful to live somewhere else
said “I was amazed at how much I missed everyone, it really took me by
surprise.” They left the gorgeous weather and beautiful beaches behind in
less than 12 months to restore their relationships with friends and return to a
school system where they felt more comfortable.
We
met several families who moved to our neighborhood after many years of a
telecommuting job in California and Washington State. Within 6 months of their
move, their companies changed their telecommuting policies and required them to
show up at their office. This has happened to so many people we now joke
that many companies allow telecommuting, just not from Hawaii.
We
find it interesting that none of families left Hawaii Island because of the
high cost of living. They left because assumptions they had made turned
out not be true. On the upside, they all seemed to have had a great experience during their short time here. As they were leaving they called it their
“Hawaii adventure.” We have concluded that they discovered that something about
their life on the mainland turned out to be way more important than the island
lifestyle that drew them to Hawaii.
1 comment:
thank you for another insightful write up. this one really hits home for us as we are considering relocating from portland to the waimea area and finding a good school for our 6 year old is of utmost importance. we will be there for 2 months next spring scoping out as many big island opportunites as we can.
mahalo!
m.y.g.
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