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 pipelines into the profession.

Committee members asked DeOlier whether the teachers standards board should take a more flexible posture toward short-term solutions such as credentialing J‑1 visa teachers. DeOlier said she would bring “an open mind and creative solutions” and work alongside other board members to balance short‑term needs with longer‑term standards.

Wesley Lowe, the nominee for the Board of Education, told senators he brings private‑sector experience in organizational leadership, finance and human resources and emphasized performance metrics. Lowe said the board should set clear, limited measures tied to the DOE’s 2029 strategic plan — student achievement and process metrics for IT, HR and facilities — and hold the department accountable using those measures. “I would say that I could be very helpful in the human resources side: bringing performance metrics and accountability and evaluations and organizational structures,” Lowe said.

Lowe answered questions about curriculum and graduation requirements by saying he would defer to education professionals on instructional matters while using his experience to help the department function more efficiently. On financial literacy, Lowe said he supports the idea but wants to ensure adding graduation requirements would not “take away something else,” and he said the board should consider a holistic approach before making policy changes. He also expressed personal support for restricting cell phones during class time while acknowledging implementation and equity concerns.

Sylvia Lee, a longtime Department of Education employee and the third confirmed nominee to the Board of Education, told senators she brings decades of administrative experience inside the DOE and said that experience gives her a statewide perspective. “I have been many different positions in it,” Lee said. She told the panel she supports a board policy on financial literacy and emphasized the value of consistency across schools if a cell‑phone ban were adopted, but she said she would want more information on enforcement and exceptions before endorsing a specific policy.

Michael Magawai’s nomination drew extended questioning about facilities, maintenance and project delivery. Magawai, an engineer and former state representative, emphasized his experience with construction, housing projects and facilities processes and said he would bring “fresh eyes” to the board’s facilities work. Several senators, however, pressed him on preparation and familiarity with the current division of facilities responsibilities among DOE, the School Facilities Authority and the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS), and they requested more detailed plans and data before deciding. The committee deferred Magawai’s nomination to allow follow‑up and scheduled a return hearing for April 11, 2025.

Votes at a glance
• GM 7‑61 — Deanna DeOlier — Hawaii Teachers Standards Board (term to expire 06/30/2027): Committee recommendation — advise and consent; recorded votes: Chair Kidani — Aye; Senator Hashimoto — Aye; Senator DeCord — Aye; Vice chair excused. Recommendation adopted.
• GM 7‑74 — Wesley Lowe — Board of Education (term to expire 06/30/2028): Committee recommendation — advise and consent; recorded votes: Chair Kidani — Aye; Senator Hashimoto — Aye; Senator DeCord — Aye; Vice chair excused. Recommendation adopted.
• GM 7‑76 — Sylvia Lee — Board of Education (term to expire 06/30/2028): Committee recommendation — advise and consent; recorded votes: Chair Kidani — Aye; Senator Hashimoto — Aye; Senator DeCord — Aye; Vice chair excused. Recommendation adopted.
• GM 7‑75 — Michael Magawai — Board of Education: Deferred for follow‑up to 04/11/2025 at 3:01 p.m. in Room 229.

Why it matters: The Hawaii Teachers Standards Board oversees teacher licensure and professional standards; the Board of Education sets policy and oversees the Department of Education. Senators tied confirmation decisions to immediate operational problems — notably teacher shortages, backlog and cost pressures on capital projects, school maintenance and nutrition policy — that affect daily instruction and student attendance.

What’s next: The committee’s confirmations move the nominees to the full Senate for final action if required by rules; Magawai’s nomination will return to the committee on April 11 for additional questioning and documentation requested by senators.