Committee
closes out final
report on Felix

It draws criticism from former
schools chief Paul LeMahieu

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By Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com

The Joint Senate-House Investigative Committee, scrutinizing costs for the state's compliance with the federal Felix consent decree, adopted its final report yesterday and received mixed reviews of its work.

The final report and eight responses were unveiled during the final hearing before the start of next month's legislative session, when a resolution will be presented to continue the committee.

"I think the committee worked out really well," said Rep. Scott Saiki (D, McCully), co-chairman of the committee. "We finally had an opportunity to gain control over this issue."

Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae) said there is bipartisan support on the committee, which showed the commitment of the Legislature. "It is a question of how is the money being spent and are the students receiving benefits," she said.

The committee received eight responses to its report. Among those they heard from was former state schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu and Kaniu Kinimaka-Stocksdale, whose company was a subcontractor that received work from the Department of Education.

"The tone throughout the report ascribes sinister intentions on the part of agencies and individuals that are most improbable," LeMahieu wrote in a three-page response.

LeMahieu and Kinimaka-Stocksdale have acknowledged that they had a "personal relationship." LeMahieu resigned as superintendent after the committee suggested during its hearings that their relationship may have led to a contract awarded to Kinimaka-Stocksdale's company, Na Laukoa, an allegation that they both deny.

"It is true that the professional relationship had changed over time into a personal one. This change occurred after the contract was awarded," Kinimaka-Stocksdale wrote.

There were contrasting views on the committee's work submitted by the departments of Health and Education, the main agencies involved in the consent degree.

While the DOE's Superintendent Pat Hamamoto acknowledged problems that the department will seek to correct, health director Bruce Anderson's department suggested that the committee's work can be accomplished through other existing legislative committees.

A federal lawsuit filed by special-needs student Jennifer Felix led to the 1994 consent decree, which aims to improve educational and mental health services for children with disabilities and to bring the state into compliance with federal law.