Darrel Galera — the retired public school principal who has been the center of controversy in the state’s search for a new schools superintendent — has withdrawn his application amid complaints that he had an unfair advantage as a former Board of Education member and friend of Gov. David Ige.
“I have decided (to) withdraw my application so the search can continue without the distraction caused by my application,” Galera said in an email Monday to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “My overarching goal is to transform our education system to provide our students with educational opportunities that are second to none.”
He did not respond to a request for further comment, but added a “sincere apology” to the governor, BOE members “and to everyone else affected by the timing of my actions.”
Galera announced last week that he was resigning from the board to apply for the schools chief position — a decision that touched off a chain reaction that led the BOE to halt the search late last week.
Shortly after Galera’s announced plans to apply, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation said it was pulling back a $50,500 grant it had awarded to help the Board of Education hire a search firm, citing concerns about the “integrity” of the search. The board in turn decided Friday to suspend the search and hold off on posting the job opening.
‘Equal playing field’
The delay raised serious doubts about whether a replacement could be named by June 30, when Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi’s term ends. But following Galera’s decision to withdraw, the foundation said it will resume its financial support, and the BOE said it will post the job advertisement today.
“The search committee appreciates the forthright statements of a public that is unafraid to speak up and who is passionate about the education of our students,” BOE member Patricia Bergin, a member of the board’s search committee, said in a statement Monday night. “As public servants, we have the same desire for a system that is transparent and have worked to develop a process that intends to provide this transparency and provides the public with the ability to provide feedback.”
BOE Chairman Lance Mizumoto encouraged qualified candidates to apply and emphasized that “everyone will go through the same screening process, and every applicant will be considered on an equal playing field.”
Galera spent 32 years with the Department of Education, including 13 years as principal of Moanalua High School, before retiring at the end of 2013. He had applied to be superintendent when former schools chief Pat Hamamoto retired in late 2009, but the job ultimately went to Matayoshi, who had been deputy superintendent and then acting and interim superintendent.
Before naming Galera to the Board of Education in October to fill a vacancy, Ige had tapped the former principal to lead a 19-member advisory team he tasked with developing a “blueprint” to overhaul the public schools. As chairman of the governor’s so-called Every Student Succeeds Act Team, Galera led an educational summit and town hall meetings across the state.
Before learning of Galera’s latest decision Monday, Senate Education Chairwoman Michelle Kidani called on him to withdraw.
“For over a year now, Mr. Galera has been held up as the governor’s guru, so to speak, on education,” said Kidani, who also served on the governor’s education task force. “Because of the fact that Mr. Galera has been at the helm of several of Gov. Ige’s initiatives, it is going to look like favoritism, like he’s been handpicked.”
She added, “The process has been tainted. I think Mr. Galera should recuse himself, and if he does not do that, then I believe the board should disqualify him from applying because he was too close to the process. Either that or start the process all over again.”
Restoring confidence
In an effort to help ensure a fair search process, Kidani has introduced two resolutions (Senate Concurrent Resolution 140 and Senate Resolution 61) that urge the BOE “to restrict any person from applying for the position of superintendent of education if that person was a member of the Board of Education while the search and hiring process was developed or initiated.”
Rep. Roy Takumi, who had been the longtime chairman of the House Education Committee until a reorganization Monday, said he had hoped the BOE would use the break to restore public confidence in the process.
“It’s good that Board of Education hit the pause button,” Takumi said. “The real telling thing was when the Harold Castle Foundation took back their $50,000. That was highly unusual. They just felt that there was a perception that the process wasn’t quite transparent, it wasn’t quite open, and a lot of people have raised questions. This delay allows the board, hopefully, to reaffirm that they are committed to a process that is beyond reproach.”
About a week after Galera was named to the board in October, the BOE announced that Matayoshi’s contract would not be renewed.
That decision by the board sparked intense criticism from some lawmakers, educators and community groups that questioned her dismissal when Matayoshi’s performance evaluations have been positive and several student outcomes have improved under her tenure, including improvements in graduation and college-going rates and standardized test scores.
BOE Chairman Mizumoto said at the time that the state has an opportunity to move public education in a new direction, citing a revised strategic plan and changes under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. He has insisted that the move was neither politically motivated nor influenced.
Soon after joining the board, Galera headed a special subcommittee that established the search process the board planned to use to find Matayoshi’s replacement. He did not, however, serve on the search committee that is leading the recruitment effort. The search committee had planned to solicit applications through April and recommend at least two finalists to the full board in May.
