Kailua High School lights still out after two years

KAILUA, Hawaii (KHON2) — Kailua High School has gone nearly two full school years without functioning field lights and it is affecting more than just football.

KHON2 learned that the lack of light is dimming a long-standing community tradition.

The lights at Kailua High’s football field have not been turned on since at least mid-2023. It is not just the ones wearing shoulder pads that have had to adjust.

“Kailua girls and boys soccer team, track. Now we have girls flag,” said Hau Wong, Kailua High School’s head football coach.

Graduations that were once held proudly under the lights have been moved to neutral sites for two years straight — breaking a tradition that dates back decades.

“So, now our kids are coming to senior year, like, ‘All right, we finally get night games!’ And then we hear like, ‘Oh, wait a minute, we got no night games in store.’ So for years, Kailua’s graduation was held on our field under the lights. Right? I don’t know, maybe for like 35 years until we started having these issues,” said Shannon Leong, a Kailua High School alumni and parent.

A temporary fix last football season did not last and a $2.9 million dollar contract was awarded in January 2025 with permanent repairs expected to start in March — but State Rep. Lisa Marten said it has been postponed.

“But there is a supply chain issue and they’re waiting on the required anchor bolts, which sounds like something you need for safety,” Marten said. “So now the plan is to wait till after the football season and start in December.”

That is not good enough for some. KHON2 pointed out to Hau that graduation in 2026 might happen back at Kailua High if work gets started in December 2025.

“Right,” Hau said. “Are we just going to settle for December? Are we going to push people?”

He added parents, alumni and students all need to stay vocal to shine some light once again.

“In the end, safety first, you can’t if you don’t have the right bolts to make these incredibly tall, heavy poles safe, then I guess you have to wait. So it’s super frustrating,” Marten said.

KHON2 is still waiting for details from the Hawaii Department of Education on a current status and timeline for renovations.