2009-11-20 TPARKERSCHOOL - Laserfiche WebLink

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We would like to maintain our niche in the community. We think that there is room for a small academically rigorous school that provides students with an opportunity that they would otherwise not have. If we were not there, or if we were not to expand, those students would still be in Waimea, and thatÓs a point that I want to stress. As much as weÓd like it, people are not going to move to the Big Island specifically to put their children into Parker School. If they were not going to Parker School, they would be going to several other local schools in the area, and they are still in the town. We think that by planning ahead ten or 15 years we will have the ability to have an infrastructure available and educational opportunity available for those students. That would improve the quality of all education. If their students are not pressing the numbers of the local public school, the local public school would be better. And so we think that we have a role to play, and we hope that you will accept our far like to see ourselves moving to in the course of the next 15 years. WATANABE: Fellow Commissioners, do we have any questions of Mr. Sturges? BOWMAN: I do. WATANABE: Yes, Ms. Bowman. BOWMAN: IÓm sorry I didnÓt hear in the beginning; did you say 60 to 70 percent of your students are from Waimea? STURGES: ThatÓs correct. BOWMAN: Okay. And the other question, prior to acquiring the new land, did you look at any other alternative sites? STURGES: Several years ago we did discuss with the Parker School Trust Corporation what grant of land they were going to give us, and there was some discussion of relocating the entire campus out to a series of acres of opposite the Waimea Airport, and that plan was discarded as being unworkable and did not provide the advantages that in-town location did for Parker School. And thatÓs the only alternative that IÓm aware of that -. BOWMAN: And the advantages of being in town were? STURGES: The advantages of being in town were that more of our children could walk to school. We wanted to continue to use the old campus. The original building was built in 1917, and along served as town headquarters. Frankly thatÓs the first thing my alumni asked me is, are you taking care of the building; thatÓs an important part of Parker School for us. And the desire to maintain the existing campus was a real strong element in all of that, that we wanted the high school to continue to occupy the existing buildings rather than build new buildings, and then the in-town location was preferable. BOWMAN: Thank you. Two more questions. Do you know about what percentage of your students come from the HonokaÒa way, Waikoloa, Kohala? About. EXHIBIT A 10