HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.C.R. NO. 10 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 STATE OF HAWAII HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE PROBATE COURT TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY AND STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN THE KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS TRUSTEE SELECTION PROCESS.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.C.R. NO. 10
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.C.R. NO.
10
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE PROBATE COURT TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY AND STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN 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 comprises 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, 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; and WHEREAS, in 2019, the legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution No. 133 requesting the probate court to increase transparency and engage more stakeholders in the trustee selection process; and WHEREAS, in May 2022, the Trustees petitioned the probate court and a group of court-appointed special masters to review the trustee selection process that has been in place for twenty years; and WHEREAS, by a separate filing with the probate court, the Trustees supported changes to the trustee selection process to increase stakeholder participation by requiring a majority of the Trustee Screening Committee members to be Native Hawaiian and at least one member to be a graduate of Kamehameha Schools; and WHEREAS, in June 2024, the court-appointed special masters issued their report on the trustee selection process. The report recommended that: (1) The Trustees file a notice with the probate court no less than one year prior to an anticipated vacancy on the Board of Trustees; and (2) The probate court publish the names and qualifications of seven individuals selected to serve on the screening committee; and WHEREAS, the report did not address the Trustees' recommendations regarding stakeholder participation; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the Senate concurring, 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 comprise Kamehameha Schools stakeholders; and (3) Be transparent regarding 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 Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, Chief Administrator of the Courts, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kamehameha Schools. OFFERED BY: _____________________________
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 comprises 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, 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; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, the legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution No. 133 requesting the probate court to increase transparency and engage more stakeholders in the trustee selection process; and
WHEREAS, in May 2022, the Trustees petitioned the probate court and a group of court-appointed special masters to review the trustee selection process that has been in place for twenty years; and
WHEREAS, by a separate filing with the probate court, the Trustees supported changes to the trustee selection process to increase stakeholder participation by requiring a majority of the Trustee Screening Committee members to be Native Hawaiian and at least one member to be a graduate of Kamehameha Schools; and
WHEREAS, in June 2024, the court-appointed special masters issued their report on the trustee selection process. The report recommended that:
(1) The Trustees file a notice with the probate court no less than one year prior to an anticipated vacancy on the Board of Trustees; and
(2) The probate court publish the names and qualifications of seven individuals selected to serve on the screening committee; and
WHEREAS, the report did not address the Trustees' recommendations regarding stakeholder participation; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the Senate concurring, 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 comprise Kamehameha Schools stakeholders; and
(3) Be transparent regarding 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 Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, Chief Administrator of the Courts, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kamehameha Schools.
OFFERED BY: _____________________________
OFFERED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title: Kamehameha Schools; Probate Court; Trustee Selection Process
Report Title:
Kamehameha Schools; Probate Court; Trustee Selection Process