Gov. David Ige on Tuesday appointed a banking executive and two former public-school educators to the state Board of Education.
Ige named Lance Mizumoto, president and chief banking officer of Central Pacific Bank, to the board along with longtime Kauai educator Margaret Cox and former teacher Hubert Minn.
The three appointments, which are subject to confirmation by the state Senate, represent one-third of the board’s voting members.
The BOE, by law, is charged with forming statewide educational policy, adopting student performance standards and assessment models, monitoring school success and appointing the superintendent.
The board has three at-large members as well as three seats representing Oahu and one each for Kauai, Maui and Hawaii island. A nonvoting student representative and military liaison also serve on the voluntary board.
"These nominees share my core beliefs and values," Ige said in a statement. "They will be open, collaborative and represent the best values of Hawaii in their aloha for the students, teachers, principals and staff, and for each other. I am confident that under their leadership we will create a public school system of which we can all be truly proud."
Mizumoto, who serves on Chaminade University’s Board of Regents, was appointed to an at-large seat on the Board of Education currently held by Keith Amemiya.
Cox, a retired high school science teacher and principal, previously was elected to two terms on the Board of Education, beginning in 2004. She was named to the board’s Kauai seat, currently held by Nancy Budd.
Minn most recently was deputy director for the city Department of Enterprise Services and previously served on the formerly elected Board of Education in the 1970s. He was named to the BOE’s Oahu seat currently held by Cheryl Lupenui.
Voters in 2010 approved a state constitutional amendment that did away with an elected school board. The governor appoints members to staggered three-year terms, and they can serve up to three consecutive terms.
The terms of outgoing members Amemiya, Budd and Lupenui expire June 30. They did not seek reappointment.
