Volcano charter school plans new campus to meet growing demand
Volcano School of Arts and Sciences plans a 14.9-acre campus that could add 287 seats and cut a 223-student waitlist by 2032.
A long-planned expansion by Volcano School of Arts and Sciences could give families in Volcano and lower Puna a bigger public charter option just off the northeastern gateway to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The school is planning a new campus on a 14.9-acre parcel on Old Volcano Road between Nahelelani Street and Alii Anela Street, with completion expected in 2032 and room for 287 additional students.
The timing matters for families already squeezed by enrollment limits. Volcano School currently serves about 360 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and 223 students were on the waitlist. Principal Kalima Kinney said the need to expand became clear in 2016. The school began seriously searching for a site in 2021 and entered negotiations with W.H. Shipman in 2022 for the parcel that best matched the school’s needs and values.
The new campus is tied to the school’s broader growth plan for a rural part of the island where distance often shapes school choice. Volcano School’s campus-development materials say the current Old Volcano Road mauka lease ends in May 2028, adding pressure to secure a permanent path forward. The school’s future plan is to use the Shipman parcel for secondary grades 6 through 12 and pre-kindergarten classrooms, while elementary grades K through 5 are planned for the Keakealani Campus on Haunani Road.
Friends of VSAS have also purchased 10 adjacent acres to support additional facilities. The school says years of community input, planning and fundraising shaped the project, and the Keakealani site plan was adopted by Friends of VSAS and the VSAS Governing Board on October 6, 2016. The school’s site plan was designed by Boone Morrison Architects, Inc.
A draft environmental assessment released May 23 describes the new campus as a $43.8 million project to be built in four phases. The plan includes a central piko courtyard, administrative building, cafeteria, labs, shops, an assembly and performance amphitheater, a commercial kitchen and outdoor courts. The draft also says the school grew from its 2001 start to 358 students in pre-K through 12th grade in 2025-2026, with 369 new applications for 2026-2027.
For Volcano and lower Puna families, the question now is not whether demand exists. It is whether the county approvals, funding and phased construction will deliver enough seats soon enough to turn a waitlist into a workable public-school option.
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