Mōkapu Elementary School is starting the year in new spaces after completing the first phase of a campus rebuild at Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi, where the school serves military-dependent students from Marine families. | Photo Credit: Mōkapu Elementary School
What You Need to Know:
- Grand opening marks completion of Phase 1 in a full campus reconstruction at Mōkapu Elementary School on Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi.
- Phase 1 delivered a new two-story administration/library building and a two- and three-story classroom complex with 55 classrooms and support spaces.
- Work began in January 2023 while the existing campus remained operational; instruction is transitioning into the new facilities after winter break.
- Phase 2 will demolish remaining older buildings and add a cafetorium, covered playcourts, a learning courtyard and additional parking.
- Project funding includes about $116.5 million in Department of Defense grants (about 80%) with the state covering the remaining 20%.
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KAILUA, Hawai’i — Mōkapu Elementary School is starting the year in new spaces after completing the first phase of a campus rebuild at Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi, where the school serves military-dependent students from Marine families.
The blessing and dedication ceremony drew lawmakers, military partners and community members for tours of the new facilities, according to an article from the Hawai‘i State Department of Education.
The first phase of the approximately $147 million project replaces large portions of a campus that originally opened in 1960. Delivered in Phase 1 are a two-story administration and library building and a two- and three-story classroom complex with 55 classrooms and support spaces, with capacity for nearly 1,000 students, the department said.
“What we’re celebrating today is a school that’s better equipped for how teaching and learning happen now — spaces that encourage collaboration, creativity and a sense of belonging, while also honoring the role this campus plays in the broader community,” Hawaiʻi State Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi said, according to an article from the Hawai‘i State Department of Education.
For AEC teams, the phasing plan is a key part of the delivery story. Construction began in January 2023, with the former campus remaining fully operational during the build. The new structures were placed on an open section of the 14.2-acre site that had been used as playfields, a running track and outdoor courts. Following winter break, classroom operations began transitioning into the new facilities.
“This beautiful new building isn’t the whole story,” Mōkapu Elementary Principal Brett Matsukawa said, according to an article from the Hawai‘i State Department of Education.
Next, Phase 2 will remove remaining older facilities and build a new cafetorium, covered playcourts, a learning courtyard and additional parking.
The Hawai‘i State Department of Education said the Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation provided approximately $116.5 million — about 80% of the total project cost — with matching state funds covering the remaining 20%.
Mōkapu Elementary is the only public elementary school located on Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi, a U.S. Navy installation. The school enrolls more than 780 students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and is supported by about 130 faculty and staff, according to the department.
This article is based on reporting originally published by the Hawai‘i State Department of Education on Jan. 6, 2026.