Kamehameha
alumi take time out

The group will celebrate Princess
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Legacy Day
with a memorial service and luau

By Jim Witty
Star-Bulletin

Na Pua a Ke Ali'i Pauahi, a group of Kamehameha Schools students, teachers and alumni formed last spring to push for administrative reforms, will step back from the controversy Friday to celebrate the legacy of a princess.

Na Pua attorney Beadie Dawson called Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop Legacy Day a nonpolitical event commemorating the signing of the princess' last will and testament in October 1883.

"October is a very significant month," said Na Pua president Toni Lee.

"October is when she signed two codicils of her will. She also died in October.... There are so many negatives out there right now, we thought it would be very nice to have the governor proclaim October a special month."

Armed with a proclamation from Gov. Ben Cayetano, Na Pua will honor Bishop's legacy for the first time with a memorial service and no-host pa'ina (luau) at Kawaiahao Church beginning at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

The general public and the Bishop Estate trustees, four of whom are under intense fire from the group for alleged transgressions in managing the school, are invited.

On tap are the Royal Hawaiian Band, the Kamehameha Alumni Glee Club and lots of Hawaiian food, Lee said.

The event comes in the midst of a campaign to expand Na Pua's membership.

"This is not to boost membership, but of course we're always looking for new members," she said. "We're trying to get our membership strong because as far as we're concerned, we're the beneficiaries of the estate -- the children at Kamehameha, their parents and the alumni. The more alumni who join only strengthen our posture."

Na Pua, which formed in March to organize a protest over the way the Bishop Estate trustees were running the school, now numbers about 1,800 members, said Lee, who noted that the current controversy is unprecedented in the school's history.

And membership is growing as alumni react to the current controversy.

"This is the first time in the history of the school that something of this magnitude has surfaced," Lee said. "Our ultimate goal is that Kamehameha Schools provides quality education to the maximum number of students."

Unlike the trustees, Na Pua contends that the students, teachers and alumni are the actual beneficiaries of the trust.

"We support the retention of the will in all aspects, including the selection of the trustees by the justices in their individual capacities," Dawson said.

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Yim taking fact-finding mission
to the neighbor islands

By the Star-Bulletin staff

Court-appointed fact-finder Patrick Yim will take his probe into the administration of Kamehameha Schools on the road this month to each of the neighbor islands.

"A few people have come forward" in response to newspaper ads that began running Sunday to publicize the neighbor island swing, said Yim's administrative assistant Kelly Bryant. "But we don't know what the response will be. We anticipate the response will build as more of the neighbor island newspapers run the ads."

Yim, appointed by Probate Court to look into the controversy surrounding administration of the school, plans to meet with those who have "relevant information" for his inquiry.

Yim will be in Lihue on Saturday, Wailuku on Monday, Hilo on Oct. 9, Kona on Oct. 11 and Kalamaula, Molokai, on Oct. 17.

Bryant urged anyone with information to call 523-1234 on Oahu to schedule an appointment.

She also stressed that the court order issued by Judge Colleen Hirai authorizes Yim to assure confidentiality for those who tell their stories.

At the end of August, Yim told the court that he is proceeding "as expeditiously as possible" but needed more time to conduct the inquiry. Another progress report is due by Oct. 31.

Yim's probe is limited to allegations of mismanagement of the school.

Bishop Estate Archive