Maui teachers’ hopes for superintendent fell short

Christina Kishimoto to step down July 30

Christina Kishimoto's tenure as school superintendent began with "high hopes" among Maui teachers and ended in months of stress and uncertainty over school reopening plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Grace should always be extended in unprecedented situations, but in a crisis, she could not provide the strong leadership we desperately needed," Maui High School mathematics teacher Jodi Kunimitsu said Wednesday. "Over the course of the past year, far too many decisions were made on a whim without collaboration or communication."

Maui educators like Kunimitsu said that questions over reopening and safety measures and a lack of communication in the pandemic plagued the past year of Kishimoto's tenure. The state Department of Education superintendent announced Tuesday that she would leave at the end of her contract period on July 30.

"After much consideration and reflection, I will not be seeking a renewal of my contract," Kishimoto said in a statement on Tuesday. "I am committed to serving out the remainder of my term. . . . It has been my great privilege to serve the students of Hawaii the past four years. This is a generation of students who will lead as global change-makers with great aloha."

The decision came after the Hawaii State Teachers Association's Board of Directors voted unanimously last month to oppose Kishimoto's contract renewal, and the Hawaii Government Employees Association's Unit 6 directors, which represents school principals and other educational officers including athletic directors, also voiced opposition. Kishimoto has faced criticism over her handling of the reopening of schools and a lack of communication in her department.

A day following the announcement, three Maui teachers, who spoke individually and not on behalf of their schools, recalled how Kishimoto was "a breath of fresh air" when she began her three-year term on Aug. 1, 2017. The Board of Education later granted a one-year extension for Kishimoto, whose contract pays her $240,000 a year as well as an auto allowance of $326 a month, according to HSTA.

A native of New York, Kishimoto's education leadership resume includes her roles as superintendent and chief executive officer of Gilbert Public Schools in Arizona and superintendent in Hartford, Connecticut.

"It's unfortunate Dr. Kishimoto's tenure is ending this way," Kunimitsu said. "I had high hopes when she was hired."

Shortly after taking the helm, Kishimoto visited Kunimitsu's classroom.

"I remembered thinking, 'Wow, this is awesome,'" Kunimitsu said. "I thought she was very collaborative and I was excited to see how she could empower schools and teachers."

But when the pandemic hit, Kunimitsu said she "experienced just the opposite." Teachers like Kunimitsu were confused, stressed and worried about new, unclear and ever-changing protocols involving distance learning to on-campus safety.

Kunimitsu also took offense to Kishimoto's proposals to eliminate pay differentials for teachers in critical shortage areas, a measure Kishimoto backed previously.

Third-grade special education teacher Justin Hughey said he also liked Kishimoto's initial support for the pay differentials and having the state Legislature put money toward it, though ultimately the funding came from the DOE instead, Hughey said.

Like Kunimitsu, Hughey also thought Kishimoto's term began with promise. The Kamehameha III Elementary teacher said that at first, she was "a breath of fresh air" from previous leadership.

"The first superintendent that actually joined with HSTA to support the ConAm (constitutional amendment), the first attempt to adequately fund public education in Hawaii," he said.

The Hawaii constitutional amendment would have given the Legislature the power to impose a surcharge on investment property to support Hawaii's educational system, but the measure failed in 2018 after the Hawaii Supreme Court said the question on the ballot was too vague.

Hughey's hopes for Kishimoto also fizzled.

"I hope governor and the Board of Education are able to find a new superintendent who has a history of working collaboratively, not unilaterally, and will strongly advocate to the Legislature for adequate funding for our keiki," he added.

Maui Waena Intermediate teacher and student activities coordinator Lisa Morrison said that while she preferred other candidates over Kishimoto, she too thought there was "hope" with Kishimoto.

"There were some moves in the right direction," Morrison said. "I do appreciate that she tried to bring the department a little farther along as terms of technology."

She said there is now an integrated system statewide using Google that both students and adults can access.

But Morrison added there were "warning signs" early in Kishimoto's tenure, like the time she failed to close down Maui schools due to a power outage.

During the pandemic, Morrison said she has heard that teachers should give Kishimoto "a break, because she is doing her best."

"You know, I don't expect her to be superhuman. (But) I may expect her to do as well as what four teachers will do," Morrison said, noting that Kishimoto gets paid a salary of four teachers put together. "Four teachers would have had all this wrapped up."

Morrison acknowledged that Kishimoto "has a hard job," but added "that's what she signed up for, that's what she best paid for."

"I'm hopeful that Hawaii will learn its lesson and will go back to hiring people in Hawaii, people who are now in our system already," Morrison said. "People who are looking to be innovative but do it though collaboration and relationships."

HSTA President Corey Rosenlee said that the union wishes Kishimoto "success in her future endeavors while we look forward to working towards securing the schools our keiki deserve."

DOE declined comment on Wednesday and said it stood by its news release on Tuesday.

Kishimoto said in the news release that she has enjoyed celebrating successes and milestones around "amplifying student voice, elevating teacher leadership and vision and setting bold strategic goals around student promises focused on innovative ideas and solutions toward a thriving and sustainable state."

"Together, we have accomplished a lot, but the path forward points to much work that still needs to be done," Kishimoto said.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.