With schools in several areas facing declining enrollment, the Department of Education has opened discussion on merging some of the smaller schools.

Whether the conversation will go beyond a Board of Education committee meeting this week remains to be seen, but it's not the first time this year the topic of consolidating small schools has come up.

Earlier this year, the Economic Momentum Commission recommended consolidating schools with low enrollment to reduce operating expenses, eliminate some of the repair and maintenance backlog and generate revenue for the schools by selling or leasing the surplus real estate.

In response, the state Legislature considered forming an outside committee to evaluate consolidations, modeled on the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

Randy Moore, assistant superintendent of the DOE's Office of Business Services, said the report was not given in response to the recommendations, but rather because a state administrative rule requires the department to consider consolidation when school enrollment drops to less than two-thirds of capacity.

"This is not a study. This is a view of selected areas. It's not comprehensive," he said. "The committee agreed that the next step is up to the board and they will let us know when they make a decision."

DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen said that consolidation is only one thing that the DOE is considering at schools with less than 200 students. The last time a public school closed was in 1987, when students from 'Anuenue Elementary were shifted to Palolo Elementary — before 'Anuenue was reopened as a Hawaiian immersion school.

"Generally people recognize the value of small schools, but they are more expensive to operate," Knudsen said.

Although folding one school into another may result in cost savings, it is not necessarily the most efficient or effective solution. Other options include using extra space to house state offices or perhaps allowing two small schools to share a campus without being combined, officials said.

Jean Hartmann, principal at Wailupe Valley Elementary School, said she wants to find ways to use the facility at full capacity. Right now, the school has 114 students, who could potentially all fit at nearby 'Aina Haina Elementary School.

However, Hartmann would like to continue to provide an alternative to the bigger elementary schools in the East Honolulu area. "It really gives people an option. As opposed to larger schools that are located right on the main streets, this is a very protected environment," she said. "I think it's really important that parents and the community band together to keep this school alive so people have choices."

While larger schools can afford to offer a wider breadth of programs, at Wailupe Valley, parents and community members help out in the classroom and raise money to support the school.

The extra space would allow Wailupe Valley to offer a home to a preschool or charter school, which would be preferable to using the space for offices, Hartmann said. "We would much rather have children occupying the classrooms and using the space," she noted.

Over at 'Aina Haina Elementary School, principal Susan Okano said that both school communities would need to be included in the discussion before any decision about consolidation was made. "Each school has its own culture and we need to be sensitive to that," she said.

This is not the first time the state has discussed a merger between the two schools, Okano pointed out. 'Aina Haina's enrollment was once about 900 and now it has 445 students. The school's capacity is officially 555, so it could fit Wailupe Valley's 114 students, although some portable buildings may be necessary.

"We would have to make adjustments because of the different programs we now have on campus. It would require flexibility on everyone's part," Okano said.

"If there is a merger, we want it to be positive, especially for the young ones. We want it to be seamless and positive for them."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.