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Voters may have kicked the elected Hawaii State Board of Education out of office earlier this month. But at Monday’s induction of the newly elected members you would have thought they were gearing up for their full four-year terms.

The seven new board members were sworn in by Hawaii State Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald in Aliiolani Hale on the second floor of the Supreme Court building downtown. The event was followed by a reception in the courtyard of the Hawaii State Public Library.

“This could be for a very short period of time,” Board Chairman Garrett Toguchi said at the ceremony. “And the truth is, nobody really knows until the Legislature gets in session and begins discussing the bills that they will be considering, and Governor-elect (Neil) Abercrombie decides which bill he will want to sign. An important thing to remember is that the work of public education must continue to go on.”

Later Monday, at a news conference where Abercrombie announced his first Cabinet picks, the governor-elect told reporters that he planned to act “expeditiously” to replace the board.

“Obviously now they are in a different position because of the (amendment) vote that took place,” he said, promising to “deal with that shortly.”

He suggested that those interested in serving on the appointed school board should apply through his transition website, . “I will consider everybody through the same process that we have initiated (with cabinet nominations),” he said.

No matter how quickly he acts, the elected board will still meet on Lanai on Thursday and elect its own new chairman. Of course, if the members want to serve on the appointed board, they can apply for the job they were just elected to through the governor’s website.

Fifty-seven percent of voters effectively permanently furloughed the elected education board on Nov. 2. They approved a that grants the governor the power to nominate board members and promises a transition period as provided by law from the elected board to the appointed board. (The problem today is that there is no law outlining the transition, after Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed an approach approved by the Legislature last year.)

But most of the 13 current elected board members have told Civil Beat that they believe they owe it to voters to carry on as if they were going to complete their normal four-year terms — until either the Hawaii Legislature passes a bill outlining an appointment process for board candidates, or Abercrombie begins nominating people.

What Next?

New board member Maralyn Kurshals said that because there are so many questions in the air, she doesn’t think anybody knows what is going to happen or how soon the elected board members will be replaced with appointees.

“We’re just going to do the best we can for the children,” Kurshals said. “The voters have spoken, but I’m going to do what I can in the moment right now.

Toguchi said he doesn’t believe the constitutional amendment has or will affect the way board members make decisions in the coming weeks or months. He exhorted current board members to move forward without concern about when they will be replaced.

This transition time is an opportunity for the elected board members to prove themselves to the governor and the Legislature, he added.

John Penebacker, who is entering his fourth term on the board, said he believes it is the will of the people that the elected board continue with business as usual until further notice.

Abercrombie has stated before that he would prefer to hand-pick school board members and have the Hawaii State Senate confirm them, rather than allowing a selection committee to screen and submit candidates to him. He also said he would be willing to discussion possibilities for the appointment process with the Legislature.

“I plan to act expeditiously,” he said Monday.