The former principal of Saint Louis School has been tapped to serve as executive director of the state Public Charter School Commission.

The commission this morning voted unanimously to hire Sione Thompson, who holds a master’s degree in education and an undergraduate sociology degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Thompson spent 10 years with Saint Louis, his alma mater, including as a social science teacher and dean of students before being named vice principal and later principal of the all-boys Catholic school. He most recently worked as an early college coordinator for the University of Hawaii-West Oahu.

“Hawaii public charter schools are integral to the overall success of our state’s educational objectives,” Thompson said in a statement. “I look forward to the work ahead in developing relationships with our charter schools, communities, and stakeholders as we work together in providing high quality education to our keiki.”

Catherine Payne, chairwoman of the commission, said Thompson’s start date is still being worked out.

Thompson will replace former executive director Tom Hutton, who announced in February that he would step down after three years on the job. Hutton had been the first director of the commission, which was established in 2012 as part of an overhaul of state’s charter law to tighten oversight and accountability of charter schools.

The commission last month announced that it would be restarting the search process after a finalist who was offered the job declined it. A screening committee was reconvened and tasked with considering both new candidates as well as previously vetted applicants. The screening committee said today that two candidates were recommended for final interviews.

“We are eager to share Mr. Thompson’s enthusiasm and commitment to high quality education with our charter schools,” Payne said in a statement.

The state’s 34 charter schools enroll more than 10,400 children, or about 6 percent of public school students. Charter schools, which report to their own governing boards, are largely funded with taxpayer dollars through per-pupil funding but are independently run under contracts with the commission.