The former Kulani prison is being converted into a trade school for at-risk teens, with tentative plans to hire staff early next year and enroll the first class in 2011, officials said.

In July, state Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Robert Lee announced his hope that the Hawai'i National Guard Youth Challenge Academy would open in January at the old 7,200-acre prison site about 20 miles south of Hilo.

However, that was before he learned of a mandate that program employees receive a full year of training before they may start working with kids, said Brig. Gen. Gary Ishikawa, the deputy adjutant general.

Ishikawa wants to expedite the mandatory training time by getting assistance from employees at the Kalaeloa academy on O'ahu.

"I can see us hiring by maybe February (or) March," he said. "Eventually, we're going to be hiring 58 folks. We will definitely be trying to hire from Hilo because we don't pay relocation costs."

The workers will run a 22-week course designed to help boys and girls, ages 16 to 18, obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent.

The goal is to teach "life skills," like farming, auto mechanics and cooking, Ishikawa said.

Kids who volunteer to be in the program — there's no requirement to join the National Guard or another military branch — also will explore the rainforest as they learn forestry and woodworking trades, Ishikawa said.

"It's a very pristine rain- forest — one of the best in Hawai'i," he said of the site of the former minimum-security prison the state closed in September to save money.

The first class of 100 students should start in early 2011, with two classes to be held annually, he said.

But first, the U.S. Department of Defense needs a new budget, which won't be approved until at least January, before the Hawai'i program may be expanded to include a Big Island campus, Ishikawa said.

"We don't have a budget today, so all the timetables are going to be delayed," he said.

The state Department of Public Safety will retain ownership of the prison and surrounding property, said Tommy Johnson, deputy director of the department's Corrections Division.

A formal use agreement between the state and federal government is being drafted, and state crews are still determining what prison equipment to leave, he said.

It cost Hawai'i taxpayers $6 million annually to run Kulani, while closing it will save $2.8 million a year, Public Safety Director Clayton Frank said in July when he announced the prison would be closed.

On Monday, Gov. Linda Lingle proposed borrowing $1.8 million for Kulani upgrades as part of her supplemental construction budget.

If approved, that money would be spent building a new water-catchment system and filtering plant to reduce the cost of treating surface water, replacing the roof atop the auto mechanics shop and adding solar panels to lower the facility's $30,000 monthly electric bill, and installing a video-surveillance system, Ishikawa said.