The Boarding Program at Lahainaluna High School is in the news again, with the boys’ dorm closed until March 20 due to staffing issues.

Alumni and former boarders are again concerned about the future of the program, which sees young men and women in grades 9-12 gain an education and life experiences while living on Lahainaluna’s historic campus.

Boarders are housed in two dormitories — one for males and one for females. To help offset the cost of their room and board, boarders engage in mandatory work experience in yard maintenance, the utility crew and in the garden, kitchen and dorms.

Founded in 1836, the program has changed the lives of generations of Lahainaluna boarders. That’s why they want the program to continue and thrive.

Christine Chung has started the petition KEEP THE DORMS OPENED on Change.org. As of Thursday afternoon, Feb. 24, 1,804 people signed it.

Chung wrote, “We don’t want the program that was started in 1831 to go to rust after almost 200 years of building it up. We want this Boarding Program to be opened up for people all over the world, to get a D1 Hawaii education, also so they can learn new cultural experiences.

“From a boarder, I can say that we fulfill the Boarding Program’s legacy that has been passed down for generations. Help us keep it open — the boarding department is filled with a mixed pot full of people that find joy in being around each other and making memories. Please help us keep the Boarding Program legacy alive, so we can do this for another hundred years or more.”

It will take some work for the Boarding Program to continue to operate within the rigid confines of the state Department of Education, and it will likely need community support.

It may be a good time to revisit ideas of the recent past, including teaching skills that boarders can immediately use in today’s labor force. Supporters can hold meetings and fundraisers to strengthen the program.

Read the comments below the petition and you’ll grasp what the program means to many people.

Marie Tafea noted, “Why aren’t they trying to find ways to make the system better, instead of coming to a conclusion to just shut it all down?? Lahainaluna isn’t Lahainaluna without our boarders!!”