ANALYSIS
McCubbin polished school's image

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

When he returned to Hawai'i in 2000, Hamilton McCubbin promised a new era at Kamehameha Schools.

Under Hamilton McCubbin's leadership, Kamehameha Schools has extended its reach to more Hawaiian children. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

McCubbin and others struggled to create an image of a nonprofit with an educational mission and shed a reputation for corruption earned through scandals in the 1990s and the ouster of its trustees.

In many respects, McCubbin's leadership worked.

Kamehameha Schools, the $6 billion foundation financed with revenues from the lands of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, has started several new programs and extended its reach to more Hawaiian children. Last year, the trust spent a record $223 million on educational programs and reached 16,000 children of Hawaiian descent.

But with McCubbin's sudden departure, alumni, faculty and school supporters are wondering what will happen to the trust's focus and the strategic plan, a well-regarded document developed with the input of thousands of Native Hawaiians and meant to guide trust decision-making through 2015.

Trustees and McCubbin have tried to expand the reach of the schools, through partnerships, outreach and increased education spending.

During McCubbin's tenure the trust:

• Opened a Maui campus in Pukulani and a Big Island campus at Kea'au.
• Announced plans to expand its preschool reach to 11,000 children within five years and all 30,000 Native Hawaiian children in 15 years.
• Gathered input from thousands as it developed a strategic plan to refocus on the education and expand its reach to more children through 2015.
• Established the first fund-raising entity in the history of Kamehameha Schools.
• Helped pass a bill that would allow it and other private foundations to enter the charter schools movement. In late April, the trust announced its first partnership with a charter school, Kanu o Ka'Aina New Century Public Charter School on the Big Island.

Alumnus Leroy Akamine said that any new CEO would have to embrace the strategic plan.

"I don't think it will return to the days of old," Akamine said. "History will never repeat itself again in that way. The strategic plan was a collaborative effort; it was very intense. A lot of hope is given to the plan and its proper implementation."

Despite the number of administrative and policy changes made under McCubbin, the only major controversy for him came last summer with the admission of a non-Hawaiian student to the Maui campus.

The decision touched off a storm of protest because officials said the supply of available, qualified Hawaiian students seeking admission to the Maui campus was exhausted.

McCubbin called the decision gut wrenching.

"It's got to be the most disgusting message to send to Hawaiians," he said. "I would rate it as the highest challenge of my three-year tenure."

University of Hawai'i Hawaiian studies professor Haunani-Kay Trask called the Maui admissions issue the biggest in the estate's history, even outweighing the ouster of several trustees in the late 1990s.

"It was a betrayal," she said.

Still, Trask said she was shocked by McCubbin's sudden departure and statements that he had accomplished his goals at the schools. "What do you mean it's over?" Trask said. "It's just a new beginning."

Trustee Constance Lau in a letter to parents said officials will keep the CEO structure that was in place under McCubbin and hope to hire a new CEO within six months.

Larry McElhany, former president of the Kamehameha Schools faculty union, said he hopes the new CEO will embrace the Strategic Plan and the schools' Philosophy of Education documents the same way faculty and alumni have.

"The job is going to be a challenge for anybody," McElhany said. "It's almost as if you're looking for a superman. The CEO is as influential and powerful as the governor in many respects. It's not an easy search."

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.