Ricky Fujitani, executive director of the Hawaii School Facilities Authority, told the House Committee on Finance the Authority — created by the Legislature in 2020 (Act 72) — aims to standardize school design, use prefabrication to control construction costs and develop programs for preschools, a Central Maui school and workforce housing on repurposed school land.

"We're a start up agency, relatively new," Fujitani said, describing the Authority’s approach as organized around "why, how and what." He said the Authority’s operating request is modest (about $1.6 million) and that the agency has roughly a dozen staff.

Fujitani said appropriations released so far include $81,000,000 for preschools (the Legislature originally appropriated $300,000,000 but the governor released $81,000,000), $20,000,000 in CIP funding for Central Maui and $5,000,000 for workforce housing. He emphasized a programmatic approach: an 11-site preschool pilot was completed within six months by using standardized renovation standards and prefabricated classroom hubs that can be factory-built and set on site.

For Central Maui, Fujitani said five standards must be developed before scaling: educational standards, construction specifications, design guides, technical drawings and commissioning protocols. The Authority is building tools including a classroom-capacity assessment database and a classroom configurator that produce standardized plans to speed procurement and construction.

On workforce housing, Fujitani described a Mililani High School pilot to repurpose school land with an awarded local developer using a design-build-finance-operate-maintain model. He acknowledged community pushback in Mililani and noted the site selection was mandated in the legislature’s budget bill rather than chosen by the Authority; he said the Authority intends to use the pilot as a model to replicate across roughly 10 sites to make a measurable dent in housing supply.

Fujitani said the Authority’s workforce housing money was reduced sharply after the Maui wildfires: an initial $170,000,000 appropriation was cut to $5,000,000, which the Authority described as funding necessary to complete the Mililani pilot but insufficient to develop statewide housing standards. He also flagged permitting inconsistencies — Hawaii County’s permitting practice diverges from state expectation and creates delays — and outlined technical due diligence required for sites (topographic and soil surveys, archeological studies, infrastructure capacity analyses).

Committee members asked about walkability, zoning and the 201H exemption process for Mililani; Fujitani said Central Maui offers a clean-sheet design for walkable, transit‑oriented planning, whereas Mililani, a 30-year-old suburban development, will need 201H exemptions for higher density and different parking rules.

On timeline, Fujitani estimated RFP-to-award for future workforce housing projects at roughly a year if funding arrives and processes proceed: RFP development by December, award in 2026, with site-specific environmental assessment and 201H hurdles thereafter. He said the Authority has identified about 25 potential sites but must secure buy-in from the governor’s office, Department of Education and local communities.

Fujitani closed by offering to provide the Committee with the Authority’s configurator and pilot data and to continue coordinating with counties and the Department of Education on standards and siting.