More Funds Approved For West Oahu School Repairs
Sharing Notes…Sen. Michelle Kidani
Notes from the Capitol
The 2014 regular session of the state Legislature adjourned as scheduled last week.
As vice chairwoman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, I am responsible for reviewing all new construction and major renovation requests. For Senate District 18 (Mililani to Village Park), I am pleased that we were able to obtain major funding for school repair and maintenance projects on virtually all area campuses. The budget also includes funds for the planning and design of a new elementary school in Royal Kunia.
I worked diligently to ensure funding for our University of Hawaii campuses that are so important to students in Central and West Oahu, as they seek opportunities for higher education closer to home. The budget allocates $8 million for major renovations at Leeward Community College Theatre. We also included $28 million for construction of a new Allied Health and Administration building at UH-West Oahu. An additional $2 million will be available for planning and design of a science, technology and creative media building at UHWO.
I’ll be reporting more from the session in future West Oahu Islander columns and at Waipahu Neighborhood Board’s monthly meetings.
I am grateful to district residents for your suggestions about legislation and budget priorities, and I hope you’ll agree we did well this year.
Aloha, Class of 2014!
In just three weeks, families and friends will gather at Blaisdell Center to celebrate our graduates in the Waipahu High School Class of 2014.
I want to publicly acknowledge the graduates and all of the wonderful things they have been able to accomplish during the past year.
We celebrated innovation and imagination in this semester’s science and history fairs. We sent many students off to the Mainland and elsewhere for academic achievements they earned through creative thinking and just plain hard work. We recognized others who distinguished themselves through selfless volunteer work in youth groups, churches and elsewhere in our community.
Just last week we heard about the accomplishments of Waipahu High’s LifeSmarts team that went off to Orlando for the nationals in this rigorous consumer education awareness competition. The school’s college and career prep programs attracted a personal visit from President Obama’s U.S. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan, who recognized school faculty and leadership for improvements in reading and math proficiency and the higher numbers of Marauder graduates going on to college.
Waipahu High School has given its graduates a great foundation for future success, and we look forward to hearing about their good work in the years ahead, wherever life takes them.
Much of what they have been able to accomplish is also thanks to the encouragement and dedication of WHS teachers, and to families and friends who make up “student support groups.” We are grateful for their hard work, too.
Congratulations, Seniors!
State Sen. Michelle Kidani represents District 18 – Village Park, Waikele and Royal Kunia, Mililani Town and a portion of Waipio Gentry. Contact her at the state Capitol, Room 228, by phone at 586-7100 or by email at SenKidani@Capitol.Hawaii.gov.
