Lame Duck Ed Board Re-Elects Toguchi As Chair
The more things change, the more they stay the same. For now, anyway.
The new elected Hawaii State Board of Education, at its first meeting Thursday on Lanai, re-elected Chairman Garrett Toguchi in an 11-1 decision. Board member Eileen Clarke cast the sole vote against Toguchi, and Maggie Cox abstained. Toguchi presided over the board during one of its most controversial years and took a strong stand against a proposed ballot amendment to replace the elected board with one appointed by the governor.
Former vice chair Lei Ahu Isa was replaced with newly installed board member Randall Yee.
Toguchi will oversee Hawaii’s last elected board of education — for now. Voters passed a constitutional amendment last month to replace the elected board with one appointed by the governor.
Earlier this week, Governor-Elect Neil Abercrombie promised to act swiftly to define the appointment process. He also invited current board members and others to apply for positions on the appointed board. Meanwhile, the seven newly-elected members were sworn in on Monday and are carrying on with business as if they planned to complete their four-year terms.
Toguchi told me at Monday’s induction ceremony that he is encouraging elected board members to look forward and not worry about when or how they will be replaced. He wants the board to continue to behave the same way it would if its days weren’t numbered, he said. But a recent decision to disregard state law on school lunch prices seems to indicate that board members know they have nothing left to lose.
It will be interesting to see what other big decisions this “lame-duck” board makes before it’s replaced with the appointees that voters have resoundingly demanded.
