The Kilauea lava flow is stalled at the moment, but experts say it will soon cross over Highway 130 and approach Pahoa town.

The situation has Department of Education officials bracing for the worst, including the potential loss of Keonepoko Elementary School, which serves about 560 students. Access to Pahoa High & Intermediate and Pahoa Elementary is also expected to be compromised.

The six schools in the Pahoa area, including three charter schools, serve about 2,550 students total. DOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said that about 70 students have moved out of Pahoa schools to schools in other complexes.

A rendering of the alternative site being planned for Keonepoko Elementary School as a contingency for the impending lava flow.

Department of Education

“We are doing our best to keep a sense of normalcy in our schools and we stand ready to adjust our operations as needed,” said, Mary Correa, superintendent of Kau, Keaau and Pahoa schools, in a statement.

The DOE is building an alternative site with portables at Keaau High’s parking lot for the Keonepoko students. The site would cost an estimated $9 million and accommodate at least 17 classrooms and as many as 500 students and staff members, according to the DOE.

The DOE is also developing plans to reroute students who live north of the flow to other schools in the Keaau complex when the flow crosses the highway. Students who live south of the flow will stay at their current schools as long as those facilities are not affected.

Dela Cruz said school officials have been meeting every night to discuss contingency plans.

This would be the first time that a Hawaii school is destroyed by lava, Dela Cruz said.