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Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s plan for a new education board has overwhelming support.

That fact became clear Monday when a giving the governor authority to make direct appointments to the Hawaii State Board of Education passed its first committee hearing with a unanimous vote.

Even the unions and the League of Women Voters were on his side.

The bill, sponsored by Senate Education Chairwoman Jill Tokuda, was the first to be heard in the Legislature this session. It will now go on to the Senate Ways and Means Committee with a few amendments, an endorsement from Gov. Neil Abercrombie‘s office and the full support of two key unions: the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the . It also received support from the Hawaii State Student Council and dozens of students at the meeting.

“The governor believes that Senate Bill 8 meets the voters’ expectations for a clear line of accountability,” policy analyst Tammi Chun told the committee on behalf of Abercrombie.

The bill proposes an 11-person board — one for each county, six at-large and one voting student member. The governor would select appointees from among those who apply through his website, and they would be subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

The Opposition

Not all the testimony was favorable, though. The philanthropist who donated $360,000 to the campaign to replace the elected board with an appointed board — more by far than everyone else combined — submitted testimony opposing Abercrombie’s plan.

“This bill fails to address and create a fair due selection process with public input and support in the selection process of viable candidates,” philanthropist Bill Reeves said in his written testimony, following up with questions about a selection advisory commission and candidate qualifications.

Senate Bill 8 intentionally omits a component included in the House’s : a selection committee, much like the University of Hawaii‘s , that would screen and vet candidates before submitting a short list to the governor.

UH faculty union leaders say the advisory council model discourages candidates from applying.

“Our experience with a similar selection process for selection of the members of the Board of Regents has resulted in many outstanding citizens, who otherwise would have made good Regents, not willing to go through the ordeal,” UHPA Executive Director J.N. Musto said. “More importantly…we believe that the Governor, in order to be accountable to the people, should not be limited in his or her choices through restriction to a list created by a committee, which is politically appointed.”

“We have full faith in this bill as it was constructed,” he told the Senate Education Committee.

But a few at the hearing voiced concern that the direct-appointment proposal gives the governor too much power.

“Without the intermediary of a selection committee, this bill creates the formation of another failed process on how members of the public are chosen to serve on the board of education,” said Sue Haglund, who testified as an individual.

Marguerite Higa of Save Our Schools Hawaii, the grassroots education group formed to end “Furlough Fridays,” also testified in “strong opposition” to the bill. She said she was there speaking for herself, not the group.

“Let’s not forget in the midst of all this excitement over a governor who is pro-education, that this law is going to have to stand for a long time,” Higa said. “The governor already has too much power.”

She pinned the blame for last year’s Furlough Fridays debacle on former Gov. Linda Lingle, who she said “singlehandedly” imposed the unpopular cost-saving measure on the school system.

“Are we nuts to give more authority to the governor?” Higa asked. “That’s what I’m feeling.”

Sens. Tokuda, Suzanne Chun Oakland and Sam Slom discussed Higa’s concerns with her at length, trying to find a compromise that would make her more comfortable with the selection process.

Higa said she prefers the proposal in the House. An advisory council would eliminate any transparency in the process though, Tokuda said, because such councils are not subject to open meetings laws. Higa said she is more worried about power being concentrated in one person.

“If the governor doesn’t care about education, then there is no accountability,” she said. “Accountability is not the same thing as having a single person to blame. That the appointments could be made in a black box with no other eyes in it is very worrisome to me.”

Appointments ‘Would Not Happen in a Vacuum’

Former Board of Education Chairwoman Debi Hartmann told Civil Beat that the direct appointment process in fact holds candidates more accountable than elections ever did. She was appointed to the board of education many years ago by former Gov. John Waihee to finish another member’s term, and was later re-elected. She is now the executive director of the .

“It’s really interesting to me that people don’t realize these appointments would not happen in a vacuum,” she said. “There is much more accountability with the appointment process than with election. When you apply for appointment, you have to show that you have the support of community members and that businesses and organizations know you. It gets pretty obvious when you’re going around asking for recommendations. The election process doesn’t require any of that.”

The full Senate Education Committee approved the bill, with an amendment to ensure that student members would be both registered voters and still enrolled in school for the majority of their appointed terms.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association supports the “concept” of the bill but does not fully support the voting student member.