Bruce Voss, a business litigation attorney and former television news reporter, has been appointed the next chairperson of the state Board of Education, Gov. David Ige announced today.

Voss will succeed Catherine Payne as chairperson. Payne, a veteran Hawaii public schools educator, will step down from the board after her holdover term ends June 30.

Voss will lead the nine-member board that sets statewide educational policy for Hawaii’s public school system, the 10th largest school system in the nation, and hires the state schools superintendent, state librarian and members of the state Public Charter School Commission.

He is a partner with the law firm of Lung Rose Voss & Wagnild, specializing in business, real estate, media, and employment law and litigation. He previously reported for Pacific Business News and KHON2 News. Voss is a graduate of Kalaheo High School and the Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Ige recently re-appointed Voss to a third term on the board, starting on July 1, 2022, and ending on June 30, 2025. Voss has served on the board since July 1, 2016, and was chair of the board’s Finance and Infrastructure Committee.

Board members will elect a vice-chairperson to succeed current Vice-Chairperson Kenneth Uemura, whose term also ends June 30.