The Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) wants Department of Education Superintendent Christina Kishimoto’s expiring contract to be her last with the public schools system.
"Throughout the pandemic, superintendent Kishimoto has shown her unwillingness to respect and honor her legal obligation to engage in consultation and bargaining with her teachers and HSTA," HSTA president Corey Rosenlee told KITV.
With Kishimoto’s contract slated to expire on Saturday, July 31, the HSTA Board of Directors recently backed the union in expressing a vote of no confidence in Kishimoto, who has served as superintendent since 2017.
Rosenlee said arriving at the decision was no easy task.
"Teachers by our very nature are caring people,” she said. “We don't want to do anything that would try to hurt someone but in this case, there have been so much built up frustration."
One of the biggest gripes against Kishimoto has centered on her handling of the COVID pandemic, with many insisting she refused to act on concerns until forced to by the Board of Education.
"If you're not able to get your administrators behind you, buying in and supporting you, then you've lost, unfortunately," said Kelcy Koga, principal of Waiakea High School on the Big Island. We shouldn't be hearing from our subordinates. That's what happened a number of times, especially with the pandemic. It's very disheartening to receive news, policy or anything of importance from down up."
The mother of two kids in the system, Heather Moselle said her issues with Kishimoto date back to last August when the DOE defended using an online teaching platform considered by many to be offensive.
"When those concerns were dismissed as a negative social media campaign put on by a competitor, I was really disappointed," she said. "It's not just about what actions are taken, it's about the confidence educators and families have in the leadership."
In a statement to KITV, Kishimoto largely dismissed all the criticism, insisting “my focus right now is on safely reopening our schools."