KANE'OHE — During lunchtime at Castle High School, students descend on the cafeteria, vying for seats in a room that holds 600 for a student body of 1,750. Many go without lunch because they don't want to sit on the ground or at a makeshift location on campus.

In 2004, $3 million was allocated to expand and upgrade the lunch room, but the money hasn't been released. Students have organized a petition campaign, collecting more than 1,000 signatures asking Gov. Linda Lingle to release the money.

They also want Lingle to release $780,000 for an all-weather track, something that was promised to the school 15 years ago.

"It seems like the cafeteria is getting smaller every year," said Ihilani Haru, junior class vice president. "People don't like walking around with their lunches. They figure they might as well not eat."

Haru and other students are circulating the petition in social studies classes while state Rep. Pono Chong, D-49th (Maunawili, Enchanted Lake, Kane'ohe), sent letters to Kane'ohe residents asking them for support.

King Intermediate students are doing a similar petition campaign for a parking lot project and a bus turnaround, he said.

But the projects are not high on the Department of Education's priority list and the cafeteria funding is about to lapse. That has not deterred the students, Chong said.

"What we're saying is, from our community's perspective, this is important to us," he said. About 200 people have responded to his letter and more responses are coming in every day, he said.

The DOE's priority list has 171 projects and the governor has released the money for 89 of them, said DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen. The cafeteria is No. 118 on the list and the all-weather track is No. 143, Knudsen said.

The list is based on health and safety considerations, as well as urgency with respect to enrollment growth, he said. The governor has released $200 million for projects in two increments and each time she asked the DOE for a priority list, Knudsen said.

"The cafeteria funding appears to be lapsing and unless it's reauthorized by the Legislature, that funding would no longer be available," he said, adding that $288 million appropriated for other projects faces the same situation.

Russell Pang, spokesman for the governor, said she is abiding by the DOE list and that she can't release all the funding at once because of the way the projects are funded through bond sales.

Richard Haru, Ihilani's father and school athletic director, said he understands that there are other priorities but felt the students should still try to make their voices heard.

About 15 to 20 years ago, all O'ahu school districts were promised an all-weather track, Haru said. Only two were built, for Honolulu and Central O'ahu, leaving the Windward and Leeward districts without one, he said.

Haru said the track is not only used by school groups. The Special Olympics, community walkers, summer programs and elementary schools use the facility, he said.

"It would be a great asset for the community and other organizations that do use the facility," Haru said. "As educators we have an obligation to at least make the environment conducive to learning. Kids standing up and eating lunch doesn't sit right."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.