Updated at 1:06 p.m., Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Kamehameha Schools officials react to ruling

Advertiser Staff

Kamehameha Schools trustee Douglas Ing and CEO Dee Jay Mailer at a news conference today lauded the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the case of Doe v. Kamehameha Schools. To the right is the schools' vice president for legal services Colleen Wong. RICHARD AMBO | The Honolulu Advertiser

Kamehameha Schools trustees and its CEO today applauded a federal appeals court decision on the school's admissions policy.

At a news conference, Robert Kihune, chairman of Kamehameha Board of Directors, said, "It's a permissible remedy for a specific people."

Colleen Wong, the school's vice president for legal affairs, said she did not believe an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court would be successful.

"We are not a government actor," Wong said. "We have a remedial purpose behind our policy."

In a news release, CEO Dee Jay Mailer said "Our princess was a devout Christian and a believer in prayer. Throughout this challenge, all of us here and many of our supporters have followed her example and said prayers for guidance and strength. And so we will say our prayer of thanks today, and also ask for the strength to continue our fight, which we know is pono."