Haruki departing BOE; ex-lawmaker to assume post

Mar. 27—The state Board of Education has a second appointed new leader in less than a year.

The state Board of Education has a second appointed new leader in less than a year.

Gov. Josh Green announced Tuesday that he has appointed former state lawmaker Roy Takumi to replace Warren Haruki as BOE chair.

Green said Haruki recently submitted his resignation for personal reasons and that Takumi will become chair if and when confirmed by the state Senate.

Haruki, a former chief executive of Grove Farm on Kauai and Maui Land &Pineapple Co., was appointed by Green as BOE chair in June in place of local attorney Bruce Voss, who then resigned instead of staying on as a board member through his term running until June 30, 2025.

Takumi served in the state Legislature from 1993 to 2022 and was chair of the House Committee on Education from 2002 to 2017. His career before that included being a teacher of English as a second language, and he holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Hawaii.

Takumi was not reelected in 2022 after boundary changes to his House district covering Pearl City, Manana and Waipio put him into a primary election contest with neighboring district Rep. Gregg Takayama, a fellow Democrat who won the election for the redrawn district covering much of Pearl City.

Green on Tuesday also appointed three other new BOE members and reappointed two current members, Ken Kuraya and Bill Arakaki.

The three new members are :—Mary Hattori, director of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East West Center, who will succeed Lauren Moriarty for a seat representing Honolulu for a term that ends June 30.—Former Mililani Middle School Principal Elynne Chung, who will succeed Shanty Asher for another Honolulu seat. Asher's term ended June 30, but she continued to serve in a holdover capacity.—'Ohana Pacific Health CEO Wesley Lo, who will fill an at-large seat that was left vacant by Voss since June.

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents also has one newly appointed member, Michael Miyahira, to succeed Alapaki Nahale-a after the Senate voted 13-12 on March 5 to reject Nahale-a for a second term.

Nahale-a had been chair, and represented Hawaii island on the board. He resigned after the vote.

Miyahira is a former banker who owns Business Strategies, a Hilo-based consulting company dealing with succession planning, governance issues and strategic planning for family ­-owned and closely held businesses.

If confirmed by the Senate, Miyahira would begin serving a term through June 30, 2028.