3 churches agree to settlement over school rental fees

Three of the five churches accused of underpaying the state Department of Education by millions of dollars for using public school facilities have come to some kind of monetary settlement in exchange for being dropped from a lawsuit, it was announced Monday.

New Hope Oahu, New Hope Hawaii Kai and New Hope Kapo­­lei admitted no underpayment or wrongdoing under the agreement with their umbrella church, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, said Jim Bickerton, attorney for plaintiffs Mitchell Kahle and Holly Huber.

Instead, church funds will be used for "helping schools," according to a brief statement issued by Bickerton’s office.

Kahle, founder of Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church, and his wife, public advocate Huber, "are pleased that Hawaii’s pubic schools will benefit from this resolution now and in the future," Bickerton said in the statement.

Under terms of the settlement, no other details were released, he said.

A representative of the Foursquare Hawaii District office declined to comment Monday.

Saying the complaint lacked sufficient detail, Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall in December ordered dismissal of the lawsuit but left open the possibility that Kahle and Huber could file a revised suit.

Bickerton said Monday that Kahle and Huber would file a new, detailed complaint within three weeks, this time against only One Love Ministries and Calvary Chapel Oahu, local churches not affiliated with the Foursquare church.

Attorneys representing One Love Ministries and Calvary Chapel Oahu have argued in court that the churches have been honest and paid all required rent to the schools.

In the original suit, Kahle and Huber alleged that the five churches had routinely underpaid public schools over a six-year period by using facilities for longer periods than their rental applications indicated. The underpayments came to light following a one-year investigation, they said.

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

Kahle and Huber filed their lawsuit under seal in March to give the state the opportunity to join in. When the state attorney general declined, a judge ordered the lawsuit unsealed.

The complaint was filed on behalf of the state because the DOE suffered the loss, according to the claim. If Kahle and Huber had prevailed, the pair would have received a reward of 25 percent to 30 percent of the damages, with the rest going to the state.