Schools superintendent gets 1-year contract extension

The School Board voted publicly Thursday to extend Superintendent Christina Kishimoto’s contract by another year, to July 2021, after being criticized for having done so behind closed doors last month.

At a special meeting Dec. 21, the board rated Kishimoto’s midyear performance as “effective” and decided to extend her contract, which began in 2017. But concern that the decision should not have been made in executive session led to the public vote.

Board members praised Kishimoto’s performance Thursday. Maggie Cox of Kauai has known various superintendents, having worked as a teacher, vice principal and principal before being elected and later appointed to the Board of Education. She was effusive about Kishimoto.

“I dearly love this superintendent, and I think she has been leading us in the appropriate direction,” Cox said. “I totally, 200 percent back this lady. I think she has done a wonderful job for us.”

Another retired educator, Patricia Bergin, said she joined the board because she was looking for innovation and fresh ideas for Hawaii’s public schools.

“I believe we have found that in the superintendent,” Bergin said. “I am extremely impressed with her.”

Board members Nolan Kawano and Kenneth Uemura spoke against the contract extension, saying the timing is wrong.

“I really do think that you’re doing a great job,” Uemura told Kishimoto. “I just don’t think we should be extending contracts based on a midyear assessment.”

In public testimony, Cheri Nakamura, representing the He‘e Coalition, which advocates for equity, urged the board to consider how public schools are faring on measures such as chronic absenteeism and the achievement gap when they evaluate the superintendent in future.

Kishimoto previously was superintendent of schools in Gilbert, Ariz., and Hartford, Conn. She earns $240,000 a year. Her midyear assessment is posted online at boe.hawaii.gov.