Senate education committee confirms three gubernatorial nominees to state education boards, defers one

The Senate Committee on Education on April 4, 2025, voted to advise and consent to three gubernatorial nominees to state education boards and deferred a fourth for further review.

The panel voted to confirm Deanna DeOlier to the Hawaii Teachers Standards Board, Wesley Lowe to the Board of Education and Sylvia Lee to the Board of Education. The committee deferred Michael Magawai’s nomination to the Board of Education to allow follow-up and additional information; members scheduled his return for April 11, 2025.

The confirmations concluded roughly two hours of questioning in which senators pressed nominees on concrete plans for teacher recruitment, licensure pathways, board oversight, the state’s backlog of capital-improvement projects and school meal policy — issues senators said are tied to daily operations in public schools.

Deanna DeOlier, the governor’s nominee to the Hawaii Teachers Standards Board, told the committee she has more than 20 years of classroom and private-school experience and described herself as “suited well for representation.” She told senators she supports exploring alternate pathways into teaching and partnerships between public and private institutions to address shortages. “I truly believe that there's probably no more important role than that of what our teachers do in a classroom day in and day out,” DeOlier said, describing a preference for apprenticeships, “learning while doing,” and public–private partnerships to expand…