Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 7, 1 July 1985 — Linekona School Bid by OHA Gains Ground [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Linekona School Bid by OHA Gains Ground

Two committees of the State Board of Education are recommending that the board transfer historic Linekona School to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The now-vacant building at the corner of Beretania and Victoria Streets would serve as a permanent office. In addition it would be used as an educational and cultural center and meeting plaee for Hawaiian organizations. OH A currently leases office space at Kawaiaha'o Plaza for its Honolulu office. Linekona is located on 2.6 acres of ceded land. The building contains over 18,000 square feet of floor space. Named to both the State and National Registers of Historic Sites, its roots ean be traced to the old Oahu Charity School, a forerunner of the Royal School. Used for a variety of educational purposes over the years, the building has been vacant since 1980 and is in need of renovation. In 1984 the BOE voted in favor of transfering the site to the Contemporary Arts Center. This past April, OHA Board Chairman Joseph Kealoha appointed Trustee Moses Keale to chair a special ad hoe committee to work with OHA's staff in developing plans for the acquisition of the site and to initiate discussions with the BOE for its use. On April 22, Trustees Keale and Louis Hao

and Acting Administrator Ben Henderson were invited to meet with members of the Board of Education's Facilities Committee. At that meeting, OHA's representatives were asked to prepare a detailed proposal describing OHA's plans for the use of Linekona School. OHA also attended the BOE's Hawaiian Affairs Committee meeting in May. As a result of a recommendation from that committee, the Board of Education took formal action at its June meeting to rescind its earlier board decision to transfer the school to the Contemporary Arts Center, opening the way to OHA. On June 27, Acting Administrator Henderson addressed a joint meeting of the Facilities and Hawaiian Affairs Committees to present OHA's plans for the use of the Linekona School site. The proposal includes plans for permanent OHA office, including a board room, trustee and staff offices, a computer room, a storage room, audio/visual room, and kitchen facilities. OHA is also proposing that a portion of the site be set aside for use as a Hawaiian Education Center whieh would include facilities for pre-service training of resource persons

for the Hawaiian studies program; a Hawaiian library whieh could serve as a repository for Hawaiian documents, provide kits, films and other materials, offer storytelling and oral history programs, and provide geneological assistance; provide space for conferences, workshops and seminars; and include a Hawaiian botanical garden. Other uses proposed for the site include a Hawaiian Arts Center where Hawaiian artists would be able to exhibit their artwork and demonstrate their craft, office space for Hawaiian businesses, and meeting rooms for Hawaiian organizations in need of a plaee to meet. Funding to repair and renovate the site could eome from legislative Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funding, fundraising efforts, donated services and federal funding. The Facilities and Hawaiian Affairs committees voted to recommend to the BOE that the Linekona School site be transferred to OHA. A decision by the full board is expected by the end of summer. If OHA is successful in obtaining BOE support, the next step will be to seek approval from the State Board of Land and Natural Resources.

BenHenderson,farright,actingadministratorforthe Office of Hawaiian Affairs, presents testimony before membersof theState Board of Education June 27 on the use of Linekona School. Others in photo, from left to right, are John R. Penebacker, vice chairman of the Department of Education facilities committee; William Waters, chairman of the Hawaiian Affairs committee; Margaret Apo, chairman of the facilities eom - mittee; and Bob Freitas, OHA staff member in the lands division.

Linekona School as it stands today. It could be the new home of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and many other Hawaiian activities as cited by Acting Administrator Ben Henderson.