Posted on: Wednesday, August 25, 2004
School workers told to keep politics off job
Staff and wire reports
State schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto has told school employees they cannot use state resources, including e-mail, to promote political candidates.
Hamamoto, in an e-mail to DOE employees last Wednesday, said such behavior could violate ethics law and result in disciplinary action and fines. "This includes the use of e-mail — including the forwarding of campaign-related messages that originate outside of the department," the superintendent wrote after hearing from Watada.
However, Hawai'i State Teachers Association president Roger Takabayashi said the teachers' contract allows union member to use department e-mail to communicate with other members about a variety of activities, including politics.
Earlier this summer, Hamamoto backed out of planned HSTA forums after she learned that the forums were intended to help elect Democratic candidates to the state Legislature. An ethics complaint has been filed against Democratic lawmakers relating to their alleged use of state resources for the forums, which were never held.
The state Campaign Spending Commission is looking into the use of state Department of Education e-mail to support candidates, according to commission executive director Bob Watada. An ethics complaint apparently also has been filed with the Hawai'i State Ethics Commission.
Pat Hamamoto
