Churches cheat schools, suit says

Five churches have underpaid the state Department of Education for the use of public school facilities by more than $5.6 million over the past six years, according to a lawsuit unsealed this week in state court.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Mitch Kahle, founder of Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of Church and State, and public advocate Holly Huber. They filed their lawsuit under seal in March to give the state the opportunity to join in.

When the state attorney general declined, a state judge ordered the lawsuit unsealed.

Kahle and Huber filed suit on behalf of the state against New Hope Oahu, New Hope Hawaii Kai, New Hope Kapo­lei, One Love Ministries and Calvary Chapel Central Oahu. If they win, they will receive a reward of 25 percent to 30 percent of damages. The rest of the money will go to the state.

The lawsuit claims the churches underpaid the DOE by using the facilities for longer periods than what they indicated on their applications.

Kahle and Huber say New Hope Oahu underpaid Farrington High School more than $3.2 million in rent and utilities charges, New Hope Hawaii Kai underpaid Kaiser High School more than $1.1 million, One Love Ministries underpaid Kaimuki High School $930,000, New Hope Kapolei owes Kapo­lei Middle School more than $344,000 and Calvary Chapel Central Oahu failed to pay more than $171,000 to Mili­lani High School.

"The way that they do it is they fill out false application forms that say they’re only using the gym or the cafeteria for a few hours when in fact they’re using it for the entire day or the entire weekend," said James Bickerton, the plaintiffs’ lawyer.

Kahle and Huber said they investigated the churches for a year, obtaining copies of their applications and going to the schools to see exactly how long they actually used the gymnasiums, cafeterias and classrooms. In some cases, they said, the churches advertised services for periods of times longer than what they put on the applications on which their rents and utility charges are based.

Huber said that during their investigation, the DOE stonewalled her and Kahle when it realized what they were investigating. They believe state education officials knew that the churches were underpaying for using school facilities but looked the other way. They also believe education officials were complicit.

The DOE imposed a five-year limit on the use of the facilities following a 1986 state attorney general opinion advising it that groups that use school buildings for more than a few years should be reminded that they cannot use the schools for their religious activities on a permanent basis.

Kahle and Huber obtained a copy of an Oct. 4, 2012, letter from New Hope Oahu Executive Pastor John Tilton to Board of Education Chairman Donald Hor­ner asking for a policy change to the rent structure and five-year lease limit.

According to the letter, a copy went to Schools Superintendent Kathryn Mata­yo­shi.

In an Oct. 25 memo from Mata­yo­shi to complex-area superintendents, she said renewal applications should be decided on a case-by-case basis and not be automatically denied after five years of accumulated use. She also says the application was amended to remove any references to the five-year rule.

Kahle and Huber said they later discovered that Hor­ner was a pastor for New Hope Diamond Head. Kahle sent Hor­ner an email in December asking the BOE chairman why he does not disclose his New Hope affiliation.

Horner responded a few days later that he updated his profile. It says he is a volunteer staff member for New Hope Diamond Head as well as a pastor.

In April Mata­yo­shi imposed a new, lower fee schedule for the use of school facilities.

Huber said their lawsuit is not about religion.

"We actually don’t object to churches using public schools. They’re part of our community. And as long as they follow the rules that everyone else should and pay the fair and proper amount, so that it’s not costing the school money," Kahle said.

The DOE declined comment on the lawsuit.

Horner did not respond to requests for comment.

No representative from any of the churches could be reached for comment.