Voters turning out: Board of Education race on

Three candidates squaring off for the Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau seat on the state Board of Education all vowed to bring excellence into public-school classrooms on Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau, and to implement education reforms.

The candidates include Dr. Mitsugi Nakashima, a former BOE member and educator with 50 years of experience under his belt; Margaret “Maggie” Cox, a retired principal at King Kaumuali‘i Elementary and Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle schools with 30 years of experience in education; and William Georgi, the lead computer analyst for ITT Industries at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Mana.

At the same time, because Kaua‘i and the Big Island are part of the same state Department of Education voting district (all the Neighbor Islands), Kaua‘i voters can cast votes for four candidates vying for the school board seat for the Big Island.

Squaring off in that race are David O. Adams, Peter Charlot, Nadia Davies-Quintana and incumbent Herbert S. Watanabe.

Adams is director of marketing for the World Botanical Gardens Inc.; Charlot, a chore worker for Hawai‘i County, drives around people with disabilities; and Watanabe is a retired DOE district business and facilities member and BOE member. Information on Quintana was not available.

The top two vote-getters in the Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau and Big Island BOE races will advance to the Tuesday, Nov. 2 general election. The Maui BOE member is not up for re-election this year. The BOE members serve four-year terms.

Statewide, 30 people are running for seven seats on the board, which has 13 voting members and a non-voting student member.

The winner of the Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau race would succeed longtime BOE member Sherwood Hara, who represents Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau.

Hara, a Hanapepe resident who is completing his third, four-year term on the BOE, is not seeking reelection, so he can spend more time with his family, and to travel.

Related to the Kaua‘i race, Nakashima previously served on the school board from 1988 to 2000.

Election literature Nakashima has circulated said he wants to return to the BOE to serve because of his “enduring commitment (to education),” and because he feels his experience could contribute to the “betterment of Hawai‘i’s public-school system.”

Nakashima said he was able to properly serve Kaua‘i because of his extensive “knowledge of both public education and Hawai‘i’s unique, military system of public schools.”

Nakashima said he supports the concept of the Reinventing Education Act passed by the state Legislature this year, and notes the implementation of the legislation is but another effort by DOE leaders, teachers and parents to produce a better educational system.

He said he likes the idea that the act requires more accountability from the school board, and requires board members to increase their visits to DOE’s seven school districts from two to four times a year.

The educational reform is based on empowering of principals and communities, streamlining of the use and delivery of resources so books and supplies, for instance, are more readily available to students, and accountability, meaning educators are held to high standards.

Nakashima has said performance standards have established a uniform, statewide curriculum, and that he opposes multiple school districts with locally elected school boards to try to improve public education and address DOE’s complex governance system.

Nakashima said problems at underachieving schools should be attacked, and solutions should be developed.

Nakashima also supports the federal mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Over 34 years, Nakashima taught in elementary, intermediate and high schools, and in college. He spent an additional 16 years in other areas of education.

Nakashima has served as an elementary-school counselor and as a principal, curriculum specialist, state assistant superintendent for instructional services, and Kaua‘i district superintendent.

Nakashima also chaired a statewide commission that reviewed DOE’s implementation of content and performance standards. Nakashima said he has continued to stay on top of the latest educational developments.

Cox brings equally impressive academic credentials to the table. Cox has spent more than 30 years as a teacher, vice principal and principal, with an emphasis on students rather than the administrative running of a school.

Her experience with the No Child Left Behind legislation, understanding of DOE processes, and her involvement with parents and meeting student needs would allow her to do well on the BOE, she has said.

Cox said there is no need to adopt a uniform statewide curriculum, as there exists content and performance standards to direct learning.

The Reinventing Education Act, she has said, offers many opportunities to improve education, and that patience has to be used as programs are implemented.

She said the DOE should not split into numerous school districts with locally elected boards. The focus, instead, should be on looking at conditions that affect students, including teacher pay and training, and improved facilities and resources for teachers.

Georgi, meanwhile, said he is running for office because he is a parent, a foster parent and grandfather who wants to bring excellence into the classroom.

He has said that there is no need for a uniform, statewide curriculum, and that schools need to offer classes to meet local needs.

He promotes the idea of looking at root causes to try to improve under-performing schools, and having school officials use creativity in encouraging students to excel.

Georgi also said that multiple school districts with locally elected board should become a reality, especially on the Neighbor Islands. He said local decisions need to be made to benefit local needs.

Georgi said his number-one priority is school safety backed up by enforcement of contract codes.

Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.