North Hilo Community Council Hosts Only Local Board of Education Candidate Forum at Laupahoehoe School

For more information contact:

Judi Steinman

Recording Secretary NHCC

808-987-8752

secnhcc@yahoo.com



The North Hilo Community Council has organized a public forum for the Hawai`i Island Board of Education candidates to be held on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 at 6:30 pm at the Laupahoehoe School Band Room. All four candidates - Paul Bryant, Bill Sanborn, Pat Walsh and incumbent Herbert Watanabe - have agreed to participate, making this event the only forum for the BOE seat at which all four candidates will respond to open questions.



"Hawai`i schools rank near the bottom of all US schools in academic achievement. The BOE candidates' forum at Laupahoehoe School will give us an opportunity to hear how the candidates plan on changing this situation," stated Laupahoehoe School Community Council Member and Acting Chair Fred Pollock.



The BOE seat is a canoe district seat, meaning that every registered voter from Hawai`i, Maui and Kauai islands (District II) can cast a ballot for their candidate of choice in the upcoming elections. There are three Department seats for District II, representing 105 schools and approximately 54,000 students. The forum at Laupahoehoe School will be the only forum of its kind in the entire neighbor island region and is a rare opportunity for all potential voters to hear from the Big Island candidates who may have an impact on the future of all our schools.



The BOE seat plays a pivotal role for the future of our schools. "The Board of Education shall have the power, as provided by law, to formulate statewide educational policy and appoint the superintendent of education as the chief executive officer of the public school system," according to a Hawai`i State Board of Education election fact sheet. For More information, click here.



The public has been invited to submit written questions to secnhcc@yahoo.com by Wednesday, September 10th at 9PM.

Questions submitted at the door on Thursday may be asked of the candidates if time permits. "The candidates will have no prior notice as to what questions will be asked," according to Judi Steinman, the recording secretary for NHCC and organizer of the event.