Board of Education chair replaced in shake-up by Gov. Green

Gov. Josh Green on Friday surprised many education observers with the announcement that he is replacing Bruce Voss as chair of the state Board of Education with business leader Warren Haruki.

Voss told the Honolulu Star-­Advertiser on Friday that he will resign from the board effective June 30, contrary to a news release from Green’s office that said Voss “will continue to serve as an at-large member.”

Voss’ board term was supposed to run until June 30, 2025. He said he will step down to allow the governor to choose another board member.

Voss, who has served on the state school board for seven years and as chair for one, declined to comment about the changes but said he is proud of the board’s work during his tenure. The lawyer and former news reporter has been known for his efforts to balance support for state Department of Education leaders while stressing accountability.

He recently led the board through a nearly yearlong process of devising a six-year strategic plan and implementation strategy for Hawaii’s public school system.

“With the help of the board members and the public, we have put the schools and the students on the right path, and I am proud of that, and I’m proud of the work that my fellow board members have done,” he said.

Haruki could not be reached immediately through the governor’s office.

Green named three interim appointees starting July 1 in his announcement. Along with Haruki, they are Kahele Dukelow, dean of arts and sciences at the University of Hawaii’s Maui College; and Shanty Asher of Honolulu, a current BOE member.

All are considered interim appointments until they are approved by the state Senate at its next session in 2024. Haruki and Dukelow will succeed board members Lynn Fallin (at-large) and Kili Namau‘u (Maui County), whose terms end June 30.

The board sets policy for Hawaii’s statewide public school system, the 10th-largest school district in the United States. It includes 258 regular public schools serving 156,500 students, nearly 40,000 full- and part-time employees, an operating budget of $2.6 billion and a capital improvement budget of $576 million.

The board also supervises the Hawaii state librarian, who heads the state’s 51 library branches; and the Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission, which oversees 37 public charter schools statewide.

Green’s announcement said Haruki “has a strong reputation as an effective collaborator and data-driven decision-maker” and “has led several companies to improved performance and financial success, including most recently for Grove Farm on Kauai.”

Haruki also was CEO of Maui Land &Pineapple Co. from 2009 to 2023, trustee and chair of the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust from 2004 to 2012, a founding member of the Public Schools of Hawai‘i Foundation and a member of various corporate and nonprofit boards.

A graduate of Kapa‘a High School on Kauai, Haruki holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management from Purdue University and a Master of Business Administration in marketing from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Dukelow is a former elementary school and middle school teacher whose background includes education curriculum development, teaching, grant writing and student support. She is a former faculty member with the Hawaiian Studies department at Maui College, and current chair of ‘Aha Kauleo, a statewide group that advises the DOE Office of Hawaiian Education on Hawaiian language immersion. She was named by the Native Hawaiian Education Council as Hawaiian educator of the year in 2019.

Dukelow is a graduate of Baldwin High School and Maui Community College, and earned her bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian studies and master’s degree in education in teaching at UH Manoa.

Asher is the Pacific Islander liaison officer at the Office of Economic Revitalization for the City and County of Honolulu. She previously served as a consultant at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning in Hawaii, and served as deputy assistant secretary for Pacific affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs for the Federated States of Micronesia.

Asher earned a Bachelor of Science in pre-law and Master of Science in criminal justice administration at Chaminade University, and a Juris Doctor from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. A graduate of Kosrae High School in the Federated States of Micronesia, she is known as an advocate for the local Micronesian community.