With the head of Hawaii’s largest bank as its chairman, the new appointed Board of Education is promising greater scrutiny of education spending, including its own, and less involvement in the daily operations of schools.

The board’s new approach will be evident at its first meeting Tuesday, when members will vote to form new committees to tackle audits, human resource issues and finance; call for formal approval of new pared-down bylaws; and kick off a review of BOE policies — all 211 of them — to determine whether any can be thrown out to give the superintendent more power.

At a time when the Department of Education is tackling an ambitious reform agenda, BOE Chairman Don Horner believes the best way the board can help boost student achievement is through a "cultural change" — giving schools the space they need to make improvements while also providing guidance to administrators and holding them to promises.

"We’re not pretending we’re experts in education," said Horner, chief executive officer and chairman of First Hawaiian Bank. "Our job is to work with (the superintendent) to provide strategic direction. We’re more focused on results, rather than process."

That’s a major shift for a body whose elected predecessor was often accused of overextending its reach.

In interviews last week, educators, lawmakers and advocates applauded Horner’s approach to governance — and his pledge not to micromanage the DOE — while also cautioning against applying too many lessons from bank boardrooms to the board charged with overseeing Hawaii’s public schools.

Several also said Horner and his fellow appointed board members — most of whom are accustomed to the private sector — should brace for encounters with government bureaucracy as they push forward on reforms in the months ahead.

"With someone like Don, he is a very results-oriented person," said state Sen. Jill Tokuda, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, adding that his appointment "set the right tone" and sent a clear message that big changes were to come.

But in a Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, she also asked him how he would balance his drive to get things done with the public’s right to comment and the realities of government operations.

"What are you going to do when the pace of change doesn’t come as quickly as you’d like?" Tokuda said last week, characterizing her line of questioning at the hearing.

Horner told Tokuda he would give the public ample time to weigh in and wouldn’t rush decisions.

High hopes for organizational change are riding on the appointed Board of Education, whose nine members represent diverse interest groups and include three current or former CEOs; two private-practice attorneys; and household names like Keith Amemiya, former executive director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association, and former television news anchor Kim Gennaula, now philanthropy director at Kapiolani Health Foundation.

Voters overwhelmingly supported the switch to an appointed board in November, and earlier this month the full Senate voted unanimously to confirm the nine members hand-picked by the governor, ending a 45-year run for Hawaii’s elected BOE.

The push to switch to an appointed board was triggered by the angst and frustration generated by teacher furloughs last school year, which left students with the shortest instructional calendar in the nation and Hawaii’s public education system with a black eye.

New board members say they understand the challenges they’re taking on, and the pressure they’re under to make real improvements.

They’re also asking for a little time to settle in.

Board member Wesley Lo, who will serve as chairman of the finance and infrastructure committee, said the board needs to start by defining its roles and responsibilities — and by opening lines of communication with the department, teachers and parents.

"We need to figure all this out," he said. Ultimately, Lo added, "The board should be worried about the end goals."

State Rep. Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Education Committee, said he supports the board’s pledge not to micromanage — something he said the elected board was guilty of.

"With all due respect, they were really reaching into the department," Takumi said.

He also said the new board should be prepared for some disappointment as it comes up against the realities of making big changes in state government.

In a recent discussion with Horner, during which the chairman was describing some changes he’d like to see, Takumi quipped that he should slow down a bit.

"He wanted to do things (immediately). I told him it’s not going to happen. Government doesn’t work that way," Takumi said.

National experts say it’s also probably a good idea for the public to temper its expectations for the board, and realize that a board of education is a major policy driver but not necessarily the biggest determinant on whether schools improve.

"The best way to think about boards is they make success possible or they make it highly unlikely," said Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a research institution. "Dysfunctional school boards mess things up so badly so that hardly any improvements are possible."

Hess said it’s useful to think of an education board like a board of directors for a company.

But he did say boards of education wield considerable power, with the authority to hire and fire a superintendent, "keep a firm hand on the tiller and provide some expertise and guidance."

Patte Barth, director of the Center for Public Education in the National School Boards Association, of which Hawaii is a member, said the new board members will have a "short learning curve" — and a short honeymoon period.

She said it is a good idea for the new board to quickly define "the line between appropriate management and micromanagement."

And she pointed out that line might be different for Hawaii than for other state boards, since Hawaii is the only state with a single, statewide board. (Other states have a state board and a host of local school boards).

"Hawaii is a unique state, and because it’s unique we don’t have a point of comparison," Barth said.

The BOE kicks off its first meeting at a time of enormous change for Hawaii’s schools: As part of reforms under way, the DOE has pledged to dramatically boost student performance, improve teacher effectiveness and turn around the lowest-performing schools.

In August, Hawaii was one of 10 winners — nine states and the District of Columbia — of a second round of highly competitive federal Race to the Top grants. The state’s payout is $75 million over four years, and the DOE says that money will go toward a total redesign of the system.

The board is also starting its work as the DOE faces worsening fiscal woes, and as its teachers are in the midst of hammering out a new contract that will almost certainly include pay cuts.

No doubt, board members say, it’s a tough time to be in education in Hawaii.

But board members also say they’re ready to bring their own professional expertise — from finance to media savvy — to improving schools.

For his part, Horner said he understands that change won’t come overnight to the DOE, the ninth-largest public school system in the nation with more than 11,000 teachers and 178,000 students.

He also said improvements to public education can begin with the board, which plans to lead by example in a time of fiscal austerity by slashing travel, holding shorter meetings and vacating its offices so that the space-strapped DOE can use them.

Horner also plans to cut the number of board staff positions, from 11 to five.

"Just like any household (in lean economic times), we’re going to have to make adjustments," Horner said. "That’s a challenge and an opportunity. It does require one to prioritize."

Support for the new board members has come from just about every corner — unions, parents, educators, nonprofits and the DOE.

At Senate confirmation hearings, no one testified against any of the appointees.

Education advocates say it’s important not to overstate the BOE’s power — but it’s also important not to understate it.

And they say the new board’s influence could be its biggest ever — as a body made up of prominent leaders who have the governor’s ear and a good relationship with the superintendent.

"I’m really hopeful about this new board," said Terry George, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation, which has donated millions to improve Hawaii’s schools. "What’s heartening to me is that we have some of the state’s top leaders sitting on the board as volunteers."

Melanie Bailey, a parent advocate, said she’s looking for the board to be a body of "no excuses."

"If something is decided to be done, it should be done," she said.

Leading the board is someone described by schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi as a "hands-on executive with high expectations."

Horner was a member of the Hawaii Business Roundtable, a public policy group, when Matayoshi served as its executive director from 2007 to 2009.

She said last week that she supports the board’s new vision, especially in "aligning our efforts — BOE and DOE," and sees Horner as "passionate" and "energetic."

Horner, who worked his way up to CEO of First Hawaiian after joining the bank as a credit analyst in 1978, is a longtime community leader. He serves on a long list of boards and commissions and was recently nominated to another high-profile position — as a member of the board that will oversee Honolulu’s rail transit project.

Horner also serves as a trustee at ‘Iolani School, which his two boys attend.

‘Iolani Headmaster Val Iwashita said he congratulated Horner after hearing about his nomination to the Board of Education and told him "he was the right person for the job."

Then, Iwashita said, "We both acknowledged how difficult the job was."