After 12 years as a member of the Board of Education, Kaua‘i resident Sherwood Hara has announced he will not seek another term on the board in the General Election in November. In a May 17 letter to The Garden
After 12 years as a member of the Board of Education, Kaua‘i resident Sherwood Hara has announced he will not seek another term on the board in the General Election in November.
In a May 17 letter to The Garden Island explaining his decision, Hara said “its time for a new chapter in life, especially with my wife, (Peggy), my best friend, my lover, my soul mate.”
Over the last 45 years, Hara has served as a probation officer in Hilo on the Big Island and Honolulu and as director of the Family Court on Kaua‘i and on the DOE school board. He wanted to offer his thanks to many people who have helped him reach his life goals.
For one, Hara said he wanted to thank his wife for always having worked behind the scenes to “support me, forgive me, uphold me and who is always there for me.”
As a DOE board member, Hara has won a reputation as a persistent and strong advocate of quality education not only on Kaua‘i but throughout the state.
Most recently, he joined other board members in opposing Gov. Lingle’s proposal to break up the state’s single school district into smaller districts that would be governed by local school boards.
Lingle push was based on her belief students in the largest school districts in the country tended to do poorly on national tests, and that smaller districts with local school boards could lead to higher test scores.
But educational researchers contended there is little evidence to show that changing district sizes with local school board would lead to better test results.
Hara felt a change in the governance structure would take away efforts by DOE board members, the school superintendent of the public school system and DOE administrators and teachers who have focused their attention on standards-based education for students and their academic achievements.
Hara said that if the DOE were beset with shortfalls each year, finding money to operate the local school boards would be challenging. Lingle’s initiative failed as it made its way through the state legislative process.
During his time on the DOE board, Hara joined Kaua‘i’s district superintendent Daniel Hamada in supporting keeping DOE superintendent Paul LaMahieu as the head of school system.
LaMahieu’s four-year contract was up in 2001 and was up for evaluation by the school board. While serving as the head of Hawai‘i’s school system, LeMahieu began creating academic standards and student accountability for meeting them.
Hara also was a member of the school board in June 2001 when the first charter school on Kaua‘i, known as Ke Kula Ni’ihau O Kekaha Learning Center, was approved by the school board.
The school was formed in 1994 after Ni‘ihau parents living on Kaua‘i became concerned the Ni‘ihau dialect of the Hawaiian language could disappear.
The parents became alarmed when they asked their children questions in the Ni‘ihau dialect of the Hawaiian language, and the children responded in pidgin English.
Last July, Hara hosted a special forum to solicit input from Kaua‘i residents on a proposal to have surfing as a high school sporting activity.
The measure has remained alive, and will be up for vote by the DOE board this month.
As a member of the school board, Hara also opposed increasing public-school bus fares from 25 cents to 50 percent per student for a one-way ride.
Representatives for the Board of Education and the Department of Education proposed the fare increases to address chronic losses associated with providing transportation for students.
Hara said the proposal came about before he got on the board, and that he sought a more reasonable increase.
Kaua‘i has a higher percentage of students who ride the buses to and from schools than elsewhere in the state.
With each new school year, Hara also has said he has come to appreciate and respect teachers more.
He has praised teachers who worked overtime or were committed to helping their students reach their academic goals.
In deciding not to run for reelection to the DOE Board, Hara said that he wanted to thank “our Lord for gifting me with the ability to provide service to our community.”
For the successes reached in life, Hara also paid tribute to David Kawate, a special friend, and his BOE campaign committee consisting of Dr. Charles Taba; Jonathan Tom; Mamo Kaneshiro and Anthony Visaya.
Mother Teresa has been a lifelong inspiration to him, Hara said.
“As she addressed an international conference which included heads of state, prime ministers, shahs and leaders in their fields, she looked at them and said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love,” Hara said.
As the Kaua‘i representative on the DOE board, Hara said he hopes he has done the right job for the children of Kaua‘i, adding that “…I have always been guided by small things with great love for them.”
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and lchang@pulitzer.net
