The governing board of the Myron B. Thompson Academy public charter school is scheduled to meet today for the first time since the state attorney general filed criminal charges last month against the school’s principal and elementary school vice principal.
There is no mention of the charges against Principal Diana Oshiro and her sister, elementary administrator Kurumi Kaapana-Aki, on the meeting agenda. The agenda does include, however, a call for the board to meet behind closed doors in executive session, when personnel matters are usually discussed.
Board Chairman Myron G. Thompson, son of the school’s namesake, did not respond to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s questions regarding whether the board will discuss the charges at the 5 p.m. meeting at the school, which is located at 1040 Richards St.
Oshiro and Kaapana-Aki are charged with misdemeanor tampering with a government record. Kaapana-Aki is also charged with felony theft.
The theft charge accuses Kaapana-Aki of collecting her vice principal pay on days when she was working her other full-time job as a Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant. The record tampering charges accuse Oshiro and Kaapana-Aki of changing school attendance records to conceal the theft.
On Monday, the school’s governing board sent a letter to its constituents calling the charges against Oshiro and Kaapana-Aki unwarranted attacks on the school and the performance of its students. The letter says the board members stand by Oshiro and Kaapana-Aki.
“We believe that they are innocent of all charges against them and we acknowledge them for what can be undeniably measured: the success of our students,” the letter said.
The sisters are scheduled to waive indictments on the theft and tampering charges in state court on Wednesday, plead no contest and be sentenced.
For Kaapana-Aki to be sentenced on Wednesday, she and the attorney general would have already had to agree to waive a pre-sentence investigation on the theft charge. The court
usually requires its staff to conduct and prepare pre-sentence investigations and reports for felony charges to help judges determine appropriate sentences. The court can waive the requirement if the parties agree to a sentence and the judge goes along with the agreement.
A pre-sentence investigation is not required for misdemeanor charges.
The attorney general and lawyers for Oshiro and Kaapana-Aki declined to comment.
Oshiro and Kaapana-Aki were in state Circuit Court on Monday hoping to have their cases adjudicated. The matter was postponed to Wednesday because the court had scheduled the sisters’ arraignments only. The Circuit Court does not have jurisdiction until a judge or grand jury sustains the charges or Oshiro and Kaapana-Aki waive their rights to a probable cause determination.
