Editorial
Hamamoto must continue to fight for reform

It was with a resounding vote of confidence that our Board of Education crowned Pat Hamamoto superintendent of schools Thursday with a four-year contract and $150,000 annual salary. That she's making $60,000 a year more than her former boss says something, though we'd rather not speculate what.

But let's not forget that Paul LeMahieu, too, was greeted like a messiah when he won the top schools job in 1998. The honeymoon, though, ended before his contract was up.

The Delaware educator came with impressive credentials and ambitions to improve governance, assessment and accountability in Hawai'i's struggling public school system. He stepped up efforts to bring special education services in compliance with the federal Felix consent decree.

Hamamoto must not allow the momentum built by LeMahieu in these areas to falter.

LeMahieu's dizzying fall from grace in October came after a tumultuous year marked by growing pressure to ramp up special-education services and the longest teachers strike in state history.

The BOE says it was looking for stability when it awarded the contract to LeMahieu's former deputy, Hamamoto, and averted a national search. Let's hope that stability does not translate into status quo; our school system must keep moving forward.

The former McKinley High principal and lifelong educator knows the system inside out and was born and raised in Hawai'i. Being an insider, however, can come with entanglements and relationships. Good or bad, we might not get the kind of radical changes often proposed by newcomers to the Islands.

For sure, Hamamoto brings stability and continuity after a rough year, and we wish her well as she copes with budget cuts, a teacher shortage and continued pressure to reform the special education system.

And she must remain focused on the implementation of Hawai'i-based education standards that help schools measure the progress of students. Reform is not always popular with everyone, but it's absolutely necessary.