Bill Text: HI SR144 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Probate Court To Increase Transparency Regarding The Kamehameha Schools Trustee Selection Process.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-27 - Report adopted, referred to JDC. [SR144 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SR144-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	144
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the Probate Court to increase transparency regarding the kamehameha schools trustee selection process.

 

 

     WHEREAS, Kamehameha Schools was established by the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop to create educational opportunities in perpetuity to improve the capability and well-being of people of Hawaiian ancestry; and

 

     WHEREAS, in accordance with the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the governance of Kamehameha Schools rests with a Board of Trustees who provide the strategic direction and focus necessary to fulfill and sustain the vision, mission, and values of Kamehameha Schools; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees is comprised of five individuals who are equally vested with the responsibility and duty of collectively carrying out the testamentary will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop; and

 

     WHEREAS, the sole purpose of the Board of Trustees is to set policy, while the day-to-day management of the institution rests with a board-appointed Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Executive Officer's chosen managerial staff; and

 

     WHEREAS, the probate court is responsible for the trustee selection process and chooses the members of the Trustee Screening Committee; and

 

     WHEREAS, the probate court has not been fully transparent on the qualifications of and the method by which the members of the Trustee Screening Committee are chosen; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the January 6, 2000, court order establishing the trustee selection process, the Trustee Screening Committee members shall be familiar with and sensitive to:

 

     (1)  The history and role of the Trust Estate relative to the Hawaiian community and the community at large; and

 

     (2)  Pauahi's legacy and her vision for the education and advancement of Hawaiian children;

 

now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the probate court is requested to recognize that Kamehameha Schools stakeholders, who include the greater native Hawaiian community; all the beneficiaries of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate; Kamehameha Schools alumni, faculty, and staff; and parents of current beneficiaries of Kamehameha's educational services, should be afforded a greater role in decisions affecting the Trust Estate; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the probate court is requested to:

 

     (1)  Fully observe the terms of the January 6, 2000, court order, especially as it relates to the composition of the Trustee Screening Committee;

 

     (2)  Appoint future Trustee Screening Committees that are comprised of Kamehameha Schools stakeholders; and

 

     (3)  Be transparent on the qualifications of and the method by which the members of the Trustee Screening Committee are chosen; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, Chief Administrator of the Courts, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Kamehameha Schools.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Kamehameha Schools; Probate Court; Trustee Selection Process