Survey: Alumni
majority wants
Lindsey removed

The survey was taken
by the Kamehameha Schools
Alumni Association

By Rick Daysog
Star-Bulletin

A majority of the members of the Kamehameha Schools Alumni Association believes that the group should seek the removal of Bishop Estate trustee Lokelani Lindsey, according to a new survey.

Nearly two of five alumni members who responded to the survey said they also favored the removal of trustees Richard Wong and Henry Peters.

But a lawyer for Lindsey believes the findings are slanted and don't reflect studies by independent consultants that support Lindsey's efforts on the Kapalama Heights campus.

The Oahu region of the Kamehameha Schools Alumni Association released the results of its survey this week in the May edition of its monthly newsletter. The survey, conducted in February and March, was mailed to 1,500 members of the Oahu association, and 518 members responded.

The study covered issues that are on the forefront of the controversy, including the removal of trustees, the trustees selection process, Lindsey's role on the estate-run Kapalama Heights campus and court-appointed fact finder Patrick Yim's report on the management of Kamehameha Schools.

While the survey generally echoes recent polls and studies conducted by the local media, its findings are significant since the participants are members of the Kamehameha Schools ohana.

It also supports the Oahu alumni association's 81-10 vote in February to support a probate court petition by trustees Oswald Stender and Gerard Jervis seeking Lindsey's removal. Here are some of the survey results:

Some 303 survey participants said the Oahu chapter should seek the immediate and permanent removal of Lindsey. Some 202 respondents believe that Wong and Peters should be ousted while 97 said the organization should seek Jervis' removal. Only four said Stender should step down.

Some 216 respondents said they backed the appointment of an independent "discovery master" to control document production for the state's investigation into potential wrongdoings by trustees.

Members were split over the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision in December to step away from selecting Bishop Estate trustees. Some 201 graduates said they believed that the high court continue to make the selections, as specified in the will of the estate's founder, Bernice Pauahi Bishop. But an additional 232 alumni members said they believe the supreme court should not pick them.

Most -- 403 graduates -- said it was not appropriate for Lindsey to release Kamehameha Schools' students' test scores and education results to the local media.

Michael Green, Lindsey's attorney, said the alumni are only getting a one-sided view of the controversy due to the efforts of Stender and Jervis. He said independent education consultants hired by the estate -- including Paul Ahr and Ernst & Young L.L.P. -- show that Lindsey has worked hard to make the educational programs more effective.

Bishop Estate spokesmen could not be reached for comment.

Bronster hindering estate, lawyer says By Debra Barayuga Star-Bulletin A lawyer for Bishop Estate says the state attorney general is hindering the estate's investigation into alleged violations of a protective order by refusing to allow her office to be deposed. "The attorney general does not seem to be concerned about such leaks and does not wish to give evidence in this case as to her knowledge of where the leaks are," said William McCorriston, Bishop Estate attorney. He called on attorney general Margery Bronster to begin an investigation into alleged leaks.Whoever leaked information should be held accountable -- whether it came from Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate, the attorney general's office or other sources, he said. Bishop Estate trustees believe a protective order issued by Circuit Judge Kevin Chang was violated in the case of a Star-Bulletin story Thursday. Rick Daysog reported that former state Sen. Milton Holt had entertained lawmakers using Bishop Estate credit cards, citing Holt and sources familiar with confidential IRS documents. The IRS documents were submitted to Bronster in her investigation of estate trustees. If parties to the protective order leaked the information to Daysog, it shows "gross irresponsibility" on the part of the Star-Bulletin for publishing the information, since it had full knowledge of the protective order, McCorriston said. Bishop Estate attorneys last week subpoenaed the attorney general and Daysog. The attorney general and Star-Bulletin attorneys yesterday filed motions to quash the subpoenas, saying the trustees have no legal basis to issue subpoenas. Peggy Leong, attorney for the Star-Bulletin, said Daysog is protected by the First Amendment from being compelled to reveal sources. A hearing will be held June 16. The attorney general and her office have denied releasing protected information and have adhered to all protective orders, said Hugh Jones, deputy attorney general. It's up to Bishop Estate to find the source of the leaks, not the attorney general, he said. "We're investigating more important matters -- whether trustees violated fiduciary duties, not whether a journalist was exercising his First Amendment rights."

Hawaiians anticipate
Kamehameha Maui

By Gary T. Kubota

Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- John Duey says a new Maui campus of Kamehameha Schools means less cost for parents.

Duey, whose two daughters attended Kamehameha Schools on Oahu, said his family paid for seven to nine round-trip air fares for each daughter during a school year.

"I think it's terrific," Duey said. "It couldn't be better."

Kamehameha Schools started construction on a Maui campus yesterday, intended to serve 200 Hawaiian students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

It will have classroom computers with high-speed Internet access and the ability to receive and transmit video information.

Officials plan to have no more than 20 students per classroom from kindergarten through third grade and no more than 24 students in a classroom from the fourth through eighth grades.

"They give the children opportunities to get a good education and prepare them for the future, especially college," said Kathy Juan, a native Hawaiian who works as a medical clerk.

Juan said she looks forward to seeing her 4-year-old son Gregory James attending the school, an opportunity that she never had growing up on the Valley Isle.

Juan said when she was a student, she decided against leaving Maui to attend Kamehameha Schools on Oahu because she wanted to remain close to home and her family.

With the campus on Maui and another planned on the Big Island, native Hawaiians will no longer have to make the choice, at least in their early years.

The school is currently operating from temporary classrooms in Pukalani.

Located a half mile makai of Kula Highway below the Kula 200 subdivision, the 110-acre site overlooks the central valley and Kahoolawe.

The $15 million first phase includes roadways, water wells, classrooms, a library, and a playfield.

It is expected to be ready for occupancy by September 1999.

The second phase, including a cafetorium and gymnasium, is scheduled to be completed by September 2000.

Bishop Estate, which manages the multibillion-dollar estate of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, is still looking for a site in Hilo to build a similar campus.

Richard Bissen, a native Hawaiian, said he's happy that his 9-year-old daughter Sayble is attending the temporary Kamehameha campus on Maui, because of the small classroom size and classes in Hawaiian culture.

"They give a lot of attention to the students," said Bissen, Maui County prosecutor.

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