State Public Charter School Commission Votes to Not Renew Kamalani Academy Charter Contract

News Release from Hawaiʻi State Public Charter School Commission, March 14, 2025

HONOLULU- The Hawaiʻi State Public Charter School Commission voted unanimously at its General Business Meeting on March 13, 2025, to not renew the charter contract for Kamalani Academy.

This final action reflects a comprehensive review of Kamalani Academy’s renewal application, and two-year conditional contract performance at its January 23, 2025 General Business Meeting. The commission determined that Kamalani Academy failed to comply with Hawaiʻi Revised Statute §302D-18(g) in three critical areas:

• Material and Substantial Violations of Charter Contract Terms
• Failure to Meet or Make Sufficient Progress Toward Performance Expectations
• Failure to Meet Generally Accepted Standards of Fiscal Management

HRS §302D-18(g) stipulates that “a charter contract may be revoked at any time or not renewed if the authorizer determines that the charter school did any of the following or otherwise failed to comply with the provisions of this chapter.” Kamalani Academy failed to meet three of four requirements outlined in the charter contract.

Kamalani Academy was afforded several opportunities to appeal the decision through the renewal process. However, both school leadership and the Governing Board did not request a hearing, citing the school’s financial challenges. Therefore, the commission’s March 13, 2025 action finalized the non-renewal decision made on January 23, 2025.

Kamalani Academy’s charter contract will officially end on June 30, 2025, allowing students to complete the current school year. The Commission will work closely with the Governing Board, school leadership and staff during this transition period to assist any families in preparation for the 2025-2026 school year.

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Insiders Looted Kamalani Academy Before State Opted To Shut It Down

CB Jan 28, 2025: … Missing financial statements, undeposited checks, school funds spent on first-class plane tickets for trips with no clear educational benefit and dwindling enrollment contributed to the state’s decision to close Kamalani Academy last week.

But the Wahiawā public charter school may have been doomed by school officials’ inability to answer a basic question from the state: Why was the school spending more than half its state funding on rent?

The school had missed multiple rent payments and was locked in an argument with the nonprofit foundation that held its lease over what exactly it was paying for.

“Pay your rent, that’s all they tell us,” Kamalani Academy staff member Annie Tangonan said of the Kamalani Academy Foundation, whose sole stated mission is to support the school.….

A 2023 audit of the charter, completed shortly before its board was reconstituted, emphasized the need for more financial oversight, citing unjustified purchases using school credit cards and the overpayment of one staff member. A year later, a second audit raised the same concerns, emphasizing that Kamalani needed more processes in place to ensure that all expenses and financial statements received the approval of school leaders.

The need for more oversight was also underscored in a summer 2023 board meeting, where members said Kamalani administrators failed to deposit over $15,000 in checks and cash into its bank accounts, and $8,000 was stolen from the school. Honolulu Police Department spokesperson Michelle Yu said a second-degree theft case was reported at the time, but no arrests were made…. 

read … Kamalani Academy Was Struggling Long Before State Opted To Shut It Down

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HPR: Wahiawā's Kamalani Academy to close in June after Charter School Commission decision | Hawai'i Public Radio