{"id":2978,"date":"2026-07-24T05:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T05:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2978"},"modified":"2026-07-24T05:05:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T05:05:13","slug":"future-of-a-kauai-school-serving-niihau-families-uncertain-amid-legal-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2978","title":{"rendered":"Future of a Kauai school serving Niihau families uncertain amid legal battle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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L\u012aHU\u02bbE (HawaiiNewsNow) – A legal battle is threatening the future of a West Kauai school that teaches young children the critically endangered Ni\u02bbihau dialect of \u2018Olelo Hawai\u02bbi.<\/p>\n

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Just weeks before the new school year was set to begin, members of Kekaha\u2019s Kula Aupuni Ni\u02bbihau A Kahelelani Aloha (KANAKA) New Century Charter School found themselves in a L\u012bhu\u02bbe courtroom Wednesday. Supporters of all ages packed the hallway outside.<\/p>\n

KANAKA PCS, as they\u2019re known, is fighting to stay open after they were slapped with a sudden rent increase, and conditions they say violated their lease.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Ni\u02bbihau language is a very important part of Hawai\u02bbi itself. And its preservation is paramount,\u201d KANAKA PCS attorney Carter Siu said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

A lawsuit recently filed said KANAKA PCS was in a 15-year lease with the nonprofit Kanaka Aupuni A Ni\u02bbihau, or KAANA, led by Katherine Tandal and Steven Sullivan. Monthly rent was nearly $5,800 and open to negotiation every five years.<\/p>\n

But in June, records show the school\u2019s invoice spiked to nearly $16,000 a month. A month later, it was almost $17,500. <\/p>\n

Then came a letter stating the KAANA board decided to terminate the school\u2019s lease, or they would be charged $20,000 monthly. <\/p>\n

The school argues all of this happened without negotiation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt cannot be understated that these unilateral actions taken by KAANA put the school\u2019s existence in jeopardy,\u201d Siu said during the hearing.<\/p>\n

One Ni\u02bbihau native who went to the school and now has children attending was saddened to hear of the conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us as Ni\u02bbihau, we like perpetuate the \u2018Olelo Hawai\u02bbi, and you know, learn English as well, but you know, we like continue our Ni\u02bbihau dialect,\u201d Blossom Kanahele said.<\/p>\n

Alleged actions by the landlord to make the school inoperable also caught the attention of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, which is in support of school leaders.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n

\u201cSo my understanding is that the water was cut off, that the electricity was cut off, and so they were trying to take everything out because they were facing an eviction notice,\u201d HSTA President Osa Tui said. <\/p>\n

Kanahele added, \u201cJust seeing that my kids [are] not gonna have a school, because they go there too, it\u2019s really disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hawaii News Now spoke with the landlord\u2019s attorney, who said KAANA leaders had to make the tough but necessary decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nonprofit is now in a very deep financial crisis because their grant from another Native Hawaiian non-profit was canceled in February. The continued litigation is going to show the role the plaintiffs played in that cancellation, and their own role regarding compliance with the lease terms,\u201d said Defense Attorney Rosa Flores.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

She added that without the grant, her clients were unable to pay the property\u2019s mortgage. <\/p>\n

The plaintiffs, however, argue these changes will shutter the school for good.<\/p>\n

While the matter plays out in court, supporters of the school say what\u2019s most heartbreaking is that the children are caught in the middle.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have our keiki in the middle of all of this is really what the tragedy is,\u201d Tui said. \u201cThey are the ones who, it\u2019s not good for them. And we wanna make sure that they get the best education they can.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

School supporter Sabra Kauka shared a message for those involved: \u201cPlease share your aloha for these children, for the people of Ni\u02bbihau, these students.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge granted a TRO Wednesday that halts the rent increases and blocks the school\u2019s closure, for now. The next hearing in the case is set for Aug. 13 at 9 a.m. in L\u012bhu\u02bbe.<\/p>\n

Read more Hiker airlifted from Makamakaole Gulch<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The school teaches kids the critically endangered Ni\u02bbihau dialect of \u2018Olelo Hawai\u02bbi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFuture of a Kauai school serving Niihau families uncertain amid legal battle - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2978\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Future of a Kauai school serving Niihau families uncertain amid legal battle - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The school teaches kids the critically endangered Ni\u02bbihau dialect of \u2018Olelo Hawai\u02bbi.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2978\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-24T05:05:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2978#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2978\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"Future of a Kauai school serving Niihau families uncertain amid legal battle\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-24T05:05:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2978\"},\"wordCount\":654,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2978#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e3f9723394402c2524c57c349c288800.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2978#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2978\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2978\",\"name\":\"Future of a Kauai school serving Niihau families uncertain amid legal battle - 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