The Senate Committee on Education on April 11 advised and consented to five gubernatorial nominees to the School Facilities Authority (SFA), advancing the panel’s effort to fill the board as members pressed nominees on project priorities, budget limits and communication with the Department of Education (DOE).

The committee voted to confirm Shelly Paiva, Robert Davis, Michael Unobasanu, Damian (Damien) Kim and Jan Iwase to staggered terms on the SFA. Chair Kidani said the recommendation to advise and consent was adopted and each nomination passed with all five committee members voting aye.

Why it matters: The SFA oversees construction and other facility projects affecting K–12 campuses across the state, as well as related initiatives the committee described as SFA’s three “big buckets”: preschool classrooms under Ready Keiki, the Central Maui school project and teacher workforce housing (for example, the Mililani project). Committee members used the confirmation hearing to probe how nominees would balance DOE priorities, legislative funding limits and community input.

Department endorsement and nominees’ backgrounds
Keith Hayashi, superintendent of the Department of Education, told the committee the DOE “stands on its written testimony in support” of each nominee and highlighted their experience in school administration, facilities and construction oversight.

Shelly Paiva, a retired community policing team member who testified remotely, said her strength is collaboration. “My strength is to collaborate efficiently, effectively, and with aloha,” Paiva said, adding she will prioritize the needs of end users: students, teachers and the community. Paiva told senators she intends to rely on staff expertise and to ask questions where she lacks technical experience.

Robert (Bob) Davis, a former complex area superintendent who said his teams successfully used an extra $14,000,000 in pandemic-related funding for improvements, described systems his offices put in place to spend appropriated money and secure an additional nearly $5,000,000 for projects. “We were able to successfully utilize the $14,000,000 that we received,” Davis said.

Michael Unobasanu, who described five decades of public service and leadership in facilities planning and construction, told members he views the DOE as the SFA’s client. “I still believe firmly that the DOE is the one that should be making priority decisions on new construction work based on the needs of the students in their system,” Unobasanu said, adding that SFA’s role is to implement projects in collaboration with DOE.

Damian Kim described more than three decades in the electrical and construction trades and said his field experience will inform project oversight. Jan Iwase, an interim SFA board member and former principal who helped secure and manage an 80/20 federal grant for a campus modernization project, said she is focused on the SFA’s three priorities — preschools (Ready Keiki), Central Maui and teacher housing — and described regular subcommittee work and open meetings as avenues for communication.

Substantive issues raised during questioning
Committee members and nominees discussed several recurring themes:
- Budget limits and prioritization: Senators repeatedly asked how nominees would handle projects when legislative appropriations fall short of DOE or school requests. Paiva and Davis emphasized prioritizing end users and negotiating tradeoffs within budgets. Unobasanu said projects sometimes require additional appropriations and that clear plans and communication are needed to avoid costly change orders.

- Accountability and decisionmaking: Senators probed where final accountability lies for project decisions and cost overruns. One senator cited a Maui school project with site and cost issues and asked whether accountability rests with SFA. Unobasanu said SFA bears responsibility for construction oversight but stressed that decisions typically involve DOE, design consultants and contractors.

- Communication between SFA and DOE: Multiple senators and board members described uneven communication. Jan Iwase, an incumbent SFA member, said the board has regular meetings and subcommittees and that SFA staff respond to her information requests, but she acknowledged room for improved collaboration. Unobasanu and other nominees emphasized the need for ongoing DOE–SFA collaboration because the DOE sets program priorities.

- Ready Keiki and facilities strategy: Iwase summarized SFA’s rollout of preschool classrooms under Ready Keiki — 11 classrooms opened the first year, 45 in the second year, and roughly 25 more planned for the current year — and said the authority is also exploring non-DOE “hub” sites such as city or state property and charter-school facilities to expand capacity.

- Procurement and construction management: Paiva and other nominees noted common construction challenges, including stalls in procurement, change orders and insufficient planning. Davis and Unobasanu emphasized tight procurement oversight, early problem identification and keeping projects on schedule to avoid lapses in spending authority.

Votes at a glance
- GM 7-79, Shelly Paiva — Advise and consent. Vote: 5–0 (ayes). Chair Kidani recorded “aye.”
- GM 7-77 & GM 7-78, Robert Davis (two terms) — Advise and consent. Vote: 5–0 (ayes).
- GM 7-80, Michael Unobasanu — Advise and consent. Vote: 5–0 (ayes).
- GM 7-81, Damian Kim — Advise and consent. Vote: 5–0 (ayes).
- GM 5-86 & GM 6-98 (listed as GM 586/698 in the hearing), Jan Iwase (two terms) — Advise and consent. Vote: 5–0 (ayes).

What the committee did not decide
The hearing was a confirmation proceeding and did not produce any binding changes to statute or appropriations. Senators said future oversight will be required to monitor SFA performance on Central Maui planning, Ready Keiki expansion and the Mililani teacher housing project.

Closing
After the roll call votes, the chair announced the committee would defer one withdrawn measure and closed the hearing. The nominees were confirmed and will proceed to their respective terms on the School Facilities Authority.