PUHI — Island School leaders have accepted a donation of 8.4 acres of land adjacent to their Puhi campus for expansion purposes, from Grove Farm owner Steve Case. “Grove Farm is making this gift for two reasons,” said Case. “First,
PUHI — Island School leaders have accepted a donation of 8.4 acres of land adjacent to their Puhi campus for expansion purposes, from Grove Farm owner Steve Case.
“Grove Farm is making this gift for two reasons,” said Case. “First, we want to honor Island School Board Chair David Pratt for his quarter century of outstanding work at Grove Farm and his continuing commitment to the community.
“Second, we believe that expansion of the Island School and the strengthening of education institutions in general are critical to Kauai’s future.”
In the process of developing a capital campaign to build more school buildings and work on the campus long-range plan, “It became apparent that we (Island School) may run out of land someday,” said Pratt. That’s when discussions between Case and school leaders began.
“So it was the school asking and Steve Case giving,” said Pratt, who is president of both Grove Farm and Lihue Land Company as well as chair of the Island School Board of Directors.
“It makes me feel good” that Case made the gift to honor my service at Grove Farm and in the community, Pratt said. “It’s just something for the long-range future of the school.”
The 8.4 acres are adjacent to the school behind Kaua‘i Community College, between the two campuses, but closer to Kaumuali‘i Highway from the existing Island School campus boundary, Pratt explained.
Case acquired Grove Farm and Lihue Plantation company lands from Hanama‘ulu to Maha‘ulepu, around 40,000 acres, in 2000 and 2001.
The donation to Island School is from Lihue Land Company (formerly Amfac’s Lihue Plantation Company), and will help the school realize its newly formulated master plan, said Robert Springer, headmaster.
The donation is subject to approval of boundary adjustments on both the Lihue Land Company and Island School lands, by leaders of the County of Kaua‘i Planning Department.
Springer said plans are to develop a halau building for the school’s Hawaiian studies program, and a baseball field, on the land donated by Grove Farm. Most of the donated parcel, however, will be reserved for future expansion of the campus.
Springer explained that a new entrance to the campus will be built, and the Hawaiian halau will be the fitting first thing people see when they arrive. Eventually, a performing arts center and gymnasium will be built, designed to be able to share parking space that the newly donated land will also provide.
The donation will also allow Springer and others to tweak the master plan so that new playground equipment won’t have to be dug up in order to build the gym.
A reservoir adjacent to campus remains Grove Farm’s, because company leaders want access to the water in the pond, Springer said.
From a vantage point on the soccer fields near the back of the campus, Springer talked about the donated land that adds acreage to the eastern and northeastern boundaries of the campus.
The soccer fields are believed to be some of the best on the island, and they are kept that way by Mike Goto’s Island School Kokua Lawn Society, around a dozen people who take turns mowing and weeding on campus, Springer said.
Goto works at the school.
“This important land gift will help the Island School reach the goals established in our recently completed campus master plan,” said Springer. “I want to join our board and the entire school community in thanking Grove Farm and Steve Case for their generosity.”
Island School is the largest private school on the island, with instruction in grades pre-kindergarten through 12.
Grove Farm Plantation was purchased by George Norton Wilcox in 1870. Wilcox introduced new sugar-production techniques, developed cooperative labor relations with his workers, and established a commitment to community philanthropy. In 1974, Grove Farm ceased sugar operations, and diversified into residential, resort, industrial, and commercial land development, as well as management and agricultural-land licensing for cattle ranching, tree farming, and growing of diversified crops such as corn, bananas, and taro.
In December 2000, Grove Farm Company, Inc. was purchased by Steve Case. Grove Farm owns and operates Kukui Grove Center and the 18-hole Puakea Golf Course, and developed Puhi Industrial Park and several residential subdivisions in the Lihu‘e area.
Earlier this year, Island School leaders accepted a donation of $60,000 from the First Hawaiian Foundation, the charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank. Those funds will be used for campus improvements, and paid over a three-year period.
With the land donation, the Island School campus grows to 38 acres. The 2003-04 student population was 300.
On the Web: http://www.ischool.org
