Clark told to Ignore Legislature’s Order

Every Sunday, “Back in the Day” looks at an article that ran on this date in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The items are verbatim, so don’t blame us today for yesteryear’s bad grammar.

———

BOE Rejects Curriculum Office Plan

KAUNAKAKAI, Molokai » The state Board of Education last night directed Superintendent Charles Clark to ignore a controversial order of the 1978 Legislature to dismantle the Department of Education’s state curriculum office.

The legislative order, inserted in the conference committee report on the state’s supplemental budget last week, directed the DOE to develop a plan to disburse most of the personnel in the Office of Instructional Services to the seven school district offices.

That office has about 110 permanent employees and 69 temporary workers handling curriculum planning and management.

The school board’s action — a resolution passed on a 5-3 vote — gets Clark off the hook with the 1979 Legislature since he is employed by the school board.

It also passes potential legislative wrath to a new board of education since all nine school board positions are up for election in November.

The school board resolution was introduced by Ruth Tabrah of the Big Island, who earlier announced she would not be a candidate for re-election.

She called the legislative proposal "stupid."

Voting with Tabrah were Hubert Minn, Richard Ando, Marion Saunders and board Chairman Darrow Aiona.

Opposing the resolution were George Adachi, Howard Takenaka and Hiroshi Yamashita. The ninth board member, Noboru Yonamine, was absent from the meeting at Kaunakakai School.

… Saunders said the proposal apparently was written only by the chairmen of the House and Senate Education committees.

"I think it’s perfectly in order for the school board to say we don’t want the time of the superintendent and his staff to be wasted on this effort," Saunders said.

Adachi said the school board’s "reaction should not be childish."

… Clark did not participate in the debate and would not discuss the matter beyond saying, "the school board employs me."