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Less than 10 minutes into its , the new appointed Hawaii State Board of Education‘s Human Resource Committee went into executive session to discuss Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi‘s employment contract, which was never finalized after her hiring last September.

(Executive sessions are closed-door meetings allowed under state law for public boards and committees to discuss certain sensitive topics like pending lawsuits or personnel matters.)

“We want to make sure the superintendent is taken care of,” Board of Education Chairman Don Horner said at the board’s first business meeting April 26, before he handed the matter over to the Human Resource Committee.

Matayoshi, who served as interim superintendent from January to September 2010, was the elected board’s top pick for the permanent position from among 24 applicants. Civil Beat asked the board to release the names of the other applicants. But the board has declined to make them public. The superintendent’s salary is capped at $150,000 per year — which is what Matayoshi was paid as interim superintendent.

The board hired her in September for four years but did not draw up a formal contract.

The Human Resource Committee also discussed its charter, which outlines its scope to include labor relations, personnel, compensation, staff development and “other human resources matters.” (Read the for more details.)