Seven Months After the Kona Lows, Kahuku High’s Band Room Still Awaits Repairs

On a Friday night in Kahuku, the Red Raiders’ band is part of the soundtrack, even when the crowd drowns it out. Behind the scenes this fall, the band has been playing without a real home.

Seven months after the Kona low storms, the flooded band room at Kahuku High & Intermediate School still hasn’t been repaired, Hawaii News Now reported Oct. 30. Students have been rehearsing in borrowed spaces around campus while they wait.

What the students say

Junior Timothy Strain, the band’s percussion section leader, told HNN that floodwater soaked the band’s instruments and left mold in the room. To keep students away from health risks, the band moved to temporary classrooms that aren’t built for music. He said all the moving has made it hard to stay together as an ensemble, and the band has lost access to many of its instruments.

Strain told the station he worries the band is falling behind this year. He said the long wait feels like nobody cares. His mother told HNN the band students have gone above and beyond to keep their program going.

What the Department of Education says

In a statement to Hawaii News Now, the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education acknowledged the long disruption and thanked students and staff for their patience. HIDOE said:

• The storms hit many campuses. The Kona lows and later storms damaged school facilities statewide. That created heavy demand for specialized environmental cleanup and repair crews, and HIDOE ranked jobs by health and safety needs, how bad the damage was and whether a school could keep operating safely.
• There weren’t enough contractors. The limited supply of specialized contractors helped cause delays at some campuses, including Kahuku.
• Cleanup has started. Environmental remediation and abatement work at Kahuku began Oct. 8. The fitness room next door has already passed its air-quality check and can move on to reconstruction.
• The band room is next. Air-quality samples for the band room went in Oct. 27, with results expected in about 10 days. Once the room is cleared, reconstruction can begin, depending on getting materials delivered.
• The target is December. If the clearance comes through as expected, HIDOE expects reconstruction to be finished in December 2026.

That means the next milestone, the air-quality results, could come around the end of this week or early next.

Part of a bigger storm recovery

Kahuku’s band room is one example of how long the storms from earlier this year are still lingering for Koʻolauloa families. HIDOE’s statement makes clear the backlog isn’t limited to one school. Specialized remediation crews are in short supply statewide, and damaged campuses have had to wait their turn.

Kahuku students had some community support this weekend

On the same stretch of coast, students got a different kind of boost Saturday. The sixth annual Turtle Bay Halloween Surf Off, hosted by the Jamie O’Brien Surf Experience at The Ritz-Carlton Oʻahu, Turtle Bay, raised money for the Kahuku High School surf team, HNN reported. Every $20 entry fee and all sponsorships went to the team. Organizers hoped to raise $30,000, up from $20,000 last year.

Oahu Local will follow up with the Department of Education on the band room’s air-quality results and reconstruction schedule.

Sources

• Hawaii News Now, “‘Frustrating’: Seven months after Kona low storms, flooded band room awaits repairs,” Aalii Dukelow (Oct. 30, 2026): https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/10/31/frustrating-seven-months-after-kona-low-storms-flooded-band-room-awaits-repairs/
• Hawaii News Now, “Halloween Surf Off raises money for Kahuku High School surf team” (Oct. 31, 2026): https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/11/01/halloween-surf-off-raises-money-kahuku-high-school-surf-team/