Activist rails against school board chief at meeting

State sheriff’s deputies were called to Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting following a feisty exchange between activist Mitch Kahle and board Chairman Don Horner.

Kahle, founder of Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of Church and State, said he wanted to let the board know about his whistle-blower lawsuit that claims five churches have underpaid the Department of Education by more than $5.6 million over the past six years for the use of public schools.

Calling him "Pastor Horner," Kahle accused the head of the school board of violating the state ethics code because of a position he holds with New Hope Diamond Head.

The lawsuit claims the churches — New Hope Oahu, New Hope Hawaii Kai, New Hope Kapo­lei, One Love Ministries and Calvary Chapel Central Oahu — use school facilities for longer periods than what they indicated on their applications.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Kahle and activist 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. If they win, they will receive a portion of damages, and the rest of the money will go to the state.

"The DOE has actually been involved in a cover-up," Kahle said during the public testimony portion of the meeting. He said the department wants to keep the "status quo … so the churches can maintain this abuse of our system."

Horner asked Kahle to wrap up his testimony after he hit the allotted two minutes. Kahle said he wasn’t finished.

"Don, as a pastor of New Hope, we understand why you don’t want this testimony to be heard," Kahle said, talking over Horner on a microphone. "You have a conflict of interest, and I would say to you that you might want to abstain from this discussion."

Horner is a licensed pastor and serves as a volunteer staff member of New Hope Diamond Head, according to his profile on the BOE’s website. He’s also a member of the Hawaii Pastors Roundtable.

Horner, clearly agitated, responded, "For your information, sir, I’m in full compliance" with the state’s ethics code. "And you are out of order."

Kahle continued, saying subpoenas would be issued to obtain documents and witness testimony.

Horner interjected: "Mr. Kahle, can I ask one other question? If you could direct your threats to this board and to the senior management. Respectfully, I ask you not to threaten our employees in the field."

Kahle asked for an example, but Horner declined to elaborate, which upset Kahle, who later called the accusation slanderous.

"You’re not going to get away with that," Kahle said. "You’re not going to say that I’ve threatened somebody and then not … I want to hear an example.

"You’re just going to make a blanket statement and then try and walk away from it. We’ll be back, Pastor Horner."

Sheriff’s deputies were called during the exchange for the safety of board members, Schools Superintendent Kathryn Mata­yo­shi and the public, a DOE spokes­woman said. Upon their arrival, Kahle had already left the room and was not questioned by deputies.

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.

Huber testified Tuesday that the DOE has not increased the rates it charges for use of school facilities since 2008. A 19-month investigation found churches began reporting fewer hours after that increase to avoid paying the higher rates, she said.

"Schools are losing money every time," she said.

DOE spokeswoman Dona­lyn Dela Cruz declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.

"This is a lawsuit against the churches," she said. "We’ll let the courts handle that."

In a public statement issued over the weekend, Wayne Cordeiro, senior pastor of New Hope Oahu, said, "Our churches have always honored all agreements made with the Department of Education and its authorized agents for the use of public school facilities. We have met with school officials in the past and they have confirmed that nothing is owed."

Cordeiro said the churches also donate time and money to upgrade school facilities and equipment.