Watchers of the "en banc" rehearing of the Kamehameha Schools admissions case came away no better equipped to predict the outcome than any person on the street flipping a coin.

The 15 members of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seemed sharply divided in their interpretations of what protection, if any, federal law provides for the schools' Hawaiian-preference admissions policy.

Judges' remarks on the one hand indicated a belief that the 1976 Supreme Court ruling against private-school exclusions based on race should prevail here. Alternately, others cited a point that until now has been little discussed:

The case challenges the rejected application by a non-Hawaiian student by citing a much older statute that bars racial discrimination in contractual agreements. However, two of the appellate judges expressed doubts that admissions to a private school could be construed as a contract.

Whether or not this uncertainty could weight the ruling in the schools' favor is anyone's guess.

But it's obvious that there will be ample areas in dispute by either side, grounds for an appeal to the nation's highest court. Given the changing dynamics of the Supreme Court, it's likely its members will want to weigh in.

The bottom line: The Kamehameha dispute will fester unresolved for a long time to come. That's unfortunate, because a school richly endowed by Princess Pauahi's legacy, with the potential to do a great deal of good for the community, will continue to operate under a legal cloud.

In the meantime, the school must be working on a "Plan B" that would allow its good work and mission to continue should the legal tide turn against it.