The whole idea of having the governor appoint members to the state Board of Education, formerly an elected body, was to give the state’s chief executive the reins over the public-education agenda.
But it didn’t mean that key decisions, such as a proposal to extend the schools superintendent contract, should be decided behind closed doors — which is how it was handled in a questionable move by the BOE.
That action, a Dec. 21 vote to add a one-year extension to Superintendent Christina Kishimoto’s three-year contract at the state Department of Education, was conducted in executive session.
The vote followed an evaluation by the board that was largely favorable though not without some criticisms of the superintendent, on the job since August 2017.
The executive action, said BOE Chairwoman Catherine Payne, drew an alert from state attorneys that the vote did not comply with a state administrative rule on open meetings. After an inquiry from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser editorial staff, Payne on Wednesday said the board will put the matter on its agenda for its Jan. 17 meeting to redo the vote.
Payne also said board members’ past practice has been to handle contractual votes in executive session, adding that they were unaware that the rule, adopted under a statute that since had been revoked, was still in effect.
That enabling statute was part of the body of law when the BOE was an elected board, which converted to an appointed board after passage of a constitutional amendment. However, the administrative rules still must be taken off the books through a transparent process allowing for public comment.
The open-meeting rule as it applies to the BOE should not be struck down at all, of course. Votes on something as consequential as the state’s top education official should be taken openly, and the public needs to have a chance to testify, underscoring that point.
The chairwoman also said the BOE needs to review other past executive-session actions to ascertain whether or not they also should be invalidated.
Kishimoto’s term had been set to expire July 31, 2020, but if the vote is reconfirmed next week, it will run through July 2021. Four years is the statutory limit of any contract length for the superintendent of schools.
Payne said the board was told that, although it’s not been the practice locally, school jurisdictions on the mainland often will extend for a year as a gesture of general approval, lest the official move on to a position elsewhere.
Kishimoto still has work do do, Payne added — that why in most categories she earned an “effective” rating, but not “highly effective.” The evaluation narrative, which is posted online (808ne.ws/2Cbb7zh), states that Kishimoto’s only highly-effective rating was for “ethical leadership.”
For example: The board praised Kishimoto’s “vision for improving operations and systems.” However, “it would like her to be more cognizant of the ways in which the department makes and communicates its financial and programmatic decisions to ensure the fiscal fidelity and efficiency of the department,” according to the evaluation.
Recent revelations about the way the DOE tracks its facilities and maintenance costs — given as a $293 million backlog in 2017, but is actually $868 million today — certainly could have played a role.
The board believes Kishimoto “is growing into the kind of leadership we’d like to see,” Payne said and so wanted to encourage her.
This still leaves onlookers scratching their heads wondering why the BOE gave Kishimoto’s predecessor, Kathryn Matayoshi, higher marks — and then her walking papers.
The BOE and its hired schools chief are clearly in alignment with Gov. David Ige. Whatever anyone thinks of the appointed board, the governor stands at its head and is accountable. He must ride herd on it now, making sure it operates in more open and transparent fashion.
