The state House-Senate committee looking into the soaring costs of special education would like to question a woman who has pleaded guilty in North Carolina to obstructing justice. Lenore B. Behar, the former head of the child and families section
The state House-Senate committee looking into the soaring costs of special education would like to question a woman who has pleaded guilty in North Carolina to obstructing justice.
Lenore B. Behar, the former head of the child and families section of North Carolina’s state mental health division who was accused of diverting federal funds, entered the guilty plea last Thursday in federal court in Greenville, N.C.
Behar was a member of the technical assistance panel established by U.S. District Judge David Ezra of Honolulu to set criteria for Hawaii’s compliance with the Felix consent decree. She also did independent contract work for the state.
“We’ve had questions about what she was doing on the technical assistance panel, what she did in other roles as well,” said Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Nanakuli), committee co-chairwoman.
The committee’s subpoena of another panel member has been quashed by Ezra.
The Felix consent decree requires Hawaii’s departments of health and education to establish a new system of care for children with mental health needs.
In the North Carolina case, the obstruction charge stemmed from Behar’s efforts to prevent investigators from getting records documenting $18,200 that she had funneled to herself as a consulting fee. She claimed the payment was reimbursement for travel expenses.
Behar agreed in a plea agreement to pay $274,000 in restitution.
In return for her plea, prosecutors dropped 45 other charges, including embezzlement, wire fraud and stealing federal money.
Paul LeMahieu, former superintendent of Hawaii’s education department, resigned in October while the committee was inquiring into his relationship with Kaniu Kinimaka-Stockdale, whose company was issued a contract related to the state’s special-education services. LeMahieu initially denied a romantic relationship but later admitted to having an affair with the woman. He said the relationship had nothing to do with the contract, however.
Meanwhile, state Board of Education members are citing Patricia Hamamoto’s experience helping lead efforts to improve special-education services and comply with the Felix decree as a chief reason for hiring her as the state schools superintendent.
Pam Hamamoto inherits a system that must deal with teacher shortages, $21 million in budget cuts over the next two years and still more pressure to reform its special education system.
“She understands the board and the direction the board wants to go,” said Karen Knudsen, a board member. “She knows the state’s legislative process already and is committed to standards.”
The only way to avoid a federal takeover of the special-education program was to quickly get someone who understands the Felix case, said board member Winston Sakurai.
Hamamoto is “the one person who has been leading us through the consent decree,” he said.
Hamamoto inherits a system that also must deal with teacher shortages and $21 million in budget cuts over the next two years.
To deal with the budget shortfall, employee furloughs, program restrictions and deletions, and reductions in overall per-pupil spending may be necessary, Hamamoto said.
From the time Hamamoto was promoted from deputy superintendent to become LeMahieu’s interim replacement, “she has shown good leadership,” said Herbert Watanabe, board chairman.
The board was looking for stability for the education department when it decided last Thursday to give her a four-year contract as superintendent, said Watanabe.
The board’s decision avoided a potentially lengthy and expensive nationwide search. Her predecessor was among 40 finalists from around the country before he was hired in 1998.
“Under different circumstances and different conditions, we might have done a national search” again to replace LeMahieu, said Sakurai.
Last Friday, a day after the board approved her appointment, Hamamoto was attending a Felix compliance presentation at Maui High School, where she once was vice principal.
