A new superintendent is unlikely to result in dramatic shifts in direction for Hawai'i's public school system, regardless of who is selected for the job.

While many view the selection of a new superintendent as an opportunity to change the course of the state's schools, the agenda of the new chief of the state Department of Education more likely will be shaped by reforms already in motion under both state and federal mandates.

Just as Patricia Hamamoto inherited a school system in 2001 encumbered by a new federal mandate known as No Child Left Behind and the Felix Consent Decree, the next Hawai'i superintendent would acquire a whole other set of federal and state mandates, including the "four assurances" under Obama's American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and the federal Race to the Top school reform.

The state Board of Education will decide this week its process for selecting a new superintendent. Since Hamamoto's resignation on New Year's Eve, broad support from the business community, lawmakers and educators has been building for Acting Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi, 51.

Matayoshi last week, while standing next to Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi, expressed interest in becoming the permanent chief of schools. Matayoshi said she planned to "stay the course," and would build on the foundation Hamamoto had laid toward achieving the new education mandates from the Obama administration.

"It would be very unfortunate if there were a lapse in leadership and we were not able to proceed quickly with (Race to the Top) and the other reform efforts coming out of the U.S. DOE," Matayoshi said last week.

Liz Chun, the executive director of the Good Beginnings Alliance, said the next superintendent will need to have a clear understanding of what is being asked of the school system under both the new and existing federal mandates.

"With the opportunities that are coming down from the federal government right now, with Race to the Top and some of the applications in the future , it would be important to continue on with people who understand the programs and pieces that are being put together at this point. In other words, to completely lose that, our state would go way back," Chun said. "I would hate to start all over, because I feel like momentum has been building."

Chun said the new superintendent should bring with him or her a new perspective on how to address the challenges facing the school system and the education reforms.

CHANGES NEEDED

The federal Race to the Top reforms and the stimulus dollars under the federal American Recovery & Reinvestment Act require the state to commit to key changes, such as raising teacher effectiveness, using student progress as a measure of effective teaching, turning around or closing under-performing schools , and establishing statewide data systems to track students.

Dee Jay Mailer, CEO of Kamehameha Schools, which contributes some $24 million a year to the public school system, said the new superintendent will need an understanding of what can be accomplished within the framework of the various federal education mandates.

Mailer said Kamehameha Schools has been helping the state prepare its application for federal Race to the Top funds.

"Many of the components of Race to the Top include some of the lessons that have been learned across the entire nation, including Hawai'i. If you look at the pillars in Race to the Top, those are the kinds of things I would hope the new superintendent would have knowledge of, or experience in," Mailer said.

The state is in the infant stages of addressing those new federal reforms, the groundwork laid in the past year by Hamamoto and the current DOE team.

Rep. Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Committee on Education, said the state Board of Education will ultimately have to find someone who has ideas and vision to address the new challenges.

"We're on a cusp after we've laid the framework with Act 51, with Race to the Top," Takumi said. "I hope (the BOE) has the wherewithal, the capacity, the ability, I suppose, to discern what they would like in a superintendent, what their vision is for the school system," Takumi said.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Hawai'i's new superintendent of schools will inherit a school system laden with challenges, including furloughs of public school teachers, unprecedented budget cuts amounting to some $468 million over the next two years, intense pressure from the federal government to reform underperforming schools, and implementation of national Common Core Standards.

So far, Matayoshi, who has been with the DOE for just six months, is the only name to emerge as a possible permanent superintendent. She's expected to be installed tomorrow as interim superintendent, a position she will hold until a permanent superintendent is selected.

Matayoshi was director of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs from 1995 to 2002 and held positions with the Honolulu Board of Water Supply and Hawaiian Electric Co.

Her supporters say she'd bring a legal and business background to the state school system. They also say with the massive state budget cuts and public school's fiscal problems, now might be a prime time for a non-educator to lead the DOE.

Takumi said he would support a non-educator as superintendent. But he said the BOE should take its time in searching for and selecting a new superintendent.

"Do I think Kathy Matayoshi can do the job? Yes. Do I believe there are thousands of people who are out there who can do the job? Yes," Takumi said.

Former Gov. Ben Cayetano said Matayoshi would bring a different perspective to the job of superintendent.

"When I appointed her to head DCCA, she did a terrific job. By my second year, she had reformed that place and it was basically self-sustaining, without the need for general funds," Cayetano said. "She's innovative."

Cayetano said Matayoshi made DCCA a more "customer-oriented" department, treating all businesses on equal footing, eliminating cumbersome paperwork, and streamlining the process for establishing a new business.

Even perennial critics of the public school system have expressed confidence in Matayoshi.

Republican state Sen. Sam Slom said the selection of a new superintendent is an opportunity to change the direction of the public school system. He praised her as the former director of the DCCA.

"One of the things about bad times we're going through, it is probably the only time that you get an opportunity to make some needed changes," Slom said.

"Some of the things Pat (Hamamoto) had supported and initiated I thought were positive. But I want to go a lot further." he said.

Slom said he didn't think it was necessary for the board to make a selection right away, especially with Matayoshi in place as an interim appointment.

"I think she absolutely has the background, the experience, the objectivity to do this. But let's see what she actually does. Let's see how she can work with the burdens of the Board of Education and the heavy bureaucracy of the DOE," Slom said.

'GOOD BACKGROUND'

Some question whether the school board should consider appointing a non-educator to the post of superintendent. While Matayoshi has never been a teacher or ran a public school, she has been heavily involved with education policy for at least a decade starting with her term on the Good Beginning Alliance's Board of Directors and in her years as executive director of the Hawaii Business Roundtable.

Tammi Chun, executive director of the Hawai'i P-20 Partnerships for Education, said Matayoshi, in her time on the business roundtable, played a key role in crafting the DOE's more rigorous high school graduation requirements and the College and Career Ready Diploma. Matayoshi also worked with P-20 partners at the University of Hawai'i and the state DOE on improving mathematics education.

"The superintendent doesn't have to be exclusively an educator. No one person can have all the skills. I think that's why it's important that the top leadership has a team with the skills that are needed," Tammi Chun said.

She also pointed out that Matayoshi, since she joined the DOE in July, has been the point person of several important education initiatives, including the state's application for federal Race to the Top competitive grant money. The state is eligible for some $75 million in federal education funds by addressing key education reforms.

"Some of the things that Pat (Hamamoto) had been doing, the direction she had set for Race to the Top, which Kathy has been working on, those are really positive. I think we need to accelerate the pace of change, though. The test scores have been improving, the achievement has been improving, and we want to see it improve more," Tammi Chun said. "The direction is right. Some refining is needed to focus. I don't think we should keep doing more of the same, but certain foundations are in place that are strong for moving forward."

Liz Chun, the executive director of the Good Beginnings Alliance, said Matayoshi understands the challenges facing the public school system through her indirect experience with education issues. She said the school system can benefit from Matayoshi's understanding of government processes, and her business and community relationships.

"She comes from a good background of the resources in the state and within business. That's why I would be supportive of her. I would feel excited. She doesn't stand still. A very bright lady," Liz Chun said.

Mitch D'Olier, president of the Harold K. Castle Foundation, called Mata-yoshi "smart and terrific." He said the board should not feel pressure to appoint a permanent superintendent immediately.

"Kathy is an ideal person to lead (the DOE) in the interim, and she may be the ideal person to lead it in the long term. But I don't think we should feel like we need to decide that right away, because we have someone good for this interim period," D'Olier said.