The trustee selection process for Kamehameha Schools is under review by the state probate court.
In May, the current KS Board of Trustees petitioned the court to perform a fresh review of the process, which has been in place for the last 22 years.
The existing process requires that the probate court appoints a 7-person screening committee to identify qualified applicants. The committee then narrows down the selection and announces the finalists' names to give 30 days for public comment.
Applicants are then given the opportunity to provide a formal statement with their intentions as a trustee before the probate court makes a decision. Lastly, KS receives the name of the appointee from the court.
The selected trustee is to serve a five-year term, with the ability to seek one additional term thereafter.
The board insists that the petition to change the existing protocol does not imply any dissatisfaction with the current selection process or with the outcome of that process.
But KS alums like Julian Ako, the former principal of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama High School, have concerns.
"We are primarily concerned about two things. Number one, that currently the way that the process is conducted is not very transparent," Ako said.
"Secondly, we believe that Kamehameha Schools stakeholders should have a dominant role in the process."
Three special masters have been appointed by the probate court to review the KS trustee selection process.
The deadline for public comment is Friday, July 14.
