The state Board of Education has called a special meeting Friday to vote on whether to close Wailupe Valley School at the end of the school year and transfer its 78 students to nearby Aina Haina Elementary.

The meeting will be held at 3 p.m. at the Queen Liliuokalani Building in the board meeting room. Public testimony will be accepted.

In a unanimous vote last week Thursday, a task force made up of parents, school administrators and community members recommended to the state Department of Education that the small elementary school be consolidated with Aina Haina, just about a mile away.

If Wailupe were to be consolidated, it would be the first time since 1987, when students from Anuenue Elementary were shifted to nearby Palolo Elementary.

Closing Wailupe Valley could result in significant cost savings to the state, according to a report released in March by the task force.

According to the report released March 6, the state spends more than twice as much per pupil at Wailupe Valley ($12,079) than at Aina Haina ($5,140).

Taking into account total operating costs for the school, the state would save about $804,000 a year if Wailupe were to close and its staff and students moved. Wailupe also has a repair and maintenance backlog of some $9.7 million.

The task force had been meeting since Dec. 23 to formulate a recommendation on whether to merge Wailupe Valley with Aina Haina.

Citing budget cuts of at least $40 million a year for the next two years, education officials in December embarked on the long and controversial process of studying consolidation of schools as a possible cost-saving measure.

Other areas such as Kaaawa, Molokai and Maui are also involved in a process to close of consolidate schools in their communities.