Editorial: AG mixup in Kalihi school theft case

The drawn-out saga of the now-defunct Halau Lokahi Public Charter School hit a new low recently, when charges against its former co-founder and director were dismissed after the state missed key deadlines to bring the case to trial.

Circuit Judge Glenn Kim, now retired, in April dismissed four felony theft charges against Laara Allbrett Opens in a new tab, who was accused of using the school’s debit card for wrongful purchases, including a healing light pad for her son, Varner, and $940 in round-trip airfare for Allbrett and other family members to attend Varner’s graduation in Hilo.

From a public accountability perspective, this outcome is troubling. The state Attorney General’s Office investigated the case for nearly three years, looking into more than $101,000 in questionable school payments and purchases, and brought charges in October 2017. For naught, it seems.

The deputy AG who was handling the case in late 2017 delayed handing over investigation material, then retired at the end of that year without doing so; the trial would be delayed at least twice.

Kim’s case dismissal allows the state to refile charges for the airfare payment, but not the other three. It also leaves unsettled some of the final vestiges of Halau Lokahi’s troubled history.

The K-12 school in Kalihi, founded in 2001 as one of Hawaii’s first charter schools, at one time had more than 200 students. It was shut down in 2015 for financial insolvency, after struggling for months to stay afloat. Around that time, the AG’s office launched an investigation into alleged misuse of public funds and theft by Allbrett, and there was hope that justice would be served. Now, it’s hard to tell.