So, as a board member with SFA, it's a matter of going out and looking at some of the projects for ELB and actually understanding what is SFA's part and row and then the people they contract with it and how are they collaborating with the school, whether it's workforce housing, how they're doing the same and whether it's Central Maui schools, how is that that going? How much input is coming from the community and the educators in the area? And how well are we listening? um and then what can we give to the that part of the equation so it can be the most sensible decision-m I think it's important to understand um the history as to how SFA has evolved um you know having with DAGs and then having it at DOE and now having SFA do you think that's important to understand that to understand better uh what failed in the past and why it failed and and the kind of responsibility that you does FSA have to make it successful because if this thing continues to you know be divisive and and you can't get agreement then you know we as legislators have a way of curing that by coming up with another idea another brilliant idea on homicide sure I think it's an opportunity you know because these the three buckets for SFA are huge and those buckets were in the DOE prior so coming up with with uh the school facilities authority outside of the DOE allows a DOE and OFO to focus on some other priorities um participate with the priorities of SFA but it's SFA's focus with those big bucket priorities you know with housing with EEL and with central Maui schools you know so there still needs to be collaboration with the DEI without a doubt because SFA exists to support those primary needs um within education.
Um but they have the the ball so to speak. Well, you you said a um key thing was that SFA is outside of the DOE. So if that's the case, then you know I guess I have some concerns about including all of DOE back into SFA because we're only going to back down the same road. So I think that's something cognizant that the board members sitting on SFA needs to understand. Um otherwise why even have SFA right? Right. But but similar to in the early learning board DOE was part of that non- voting but it was part of the board. So I think that's where the communication lines real without right but again without moving it all on and making sure that you know well you know the issues and the problems. So I just hope that understanding that that you know we can avoid some of the the reasons why it failed while it was under DOE.
Thank you. Thank you. Further questions. Thanks for being here. I I guess going off of Senator Kim's questioning, you know, how are you going to balance, you know, what the DOE wants and what the DOE is telling you? I know they're you're friends with them, but how do you balance that with what is practical and how are you actually going to get a something done, so what they're asking may not be you may not be able to do. What do you do in that situation? Well, again, I think it's important that um I kind of guide myself with being grounded in what is the right thing to do. I think I've always done that in my professional career. Um, I feel that there is an opportunity to ensure that we get schools on Maui, to ensure that we get more of our needy students in preschool, and to ensure that we increase and and really start with this workforce housing.
I I really think that that in itself can really help with um sustaining our teaching cadre. Um and so looking at the overarching mission of ensuring that those three items are being accomplished um should be the forefront. I realize that there are times when say something is wanted by a school however it is not practical given the budgeting for it to occur then that's where I hope that my skill set is able to meet the needs of both parties and help to come to some kind of decision- making. So it doesn't necessarily halt or stall. Okay. So as I think one prime example is what are we going to do with this Milani teacher housing? I recently saw the memo that outlined all the things that the DOE wants, but the reality is if we do all that, we tank the project. So what do we do about those kind of things?
I'd have to see that. I haven't seen it yet. Um so again, I think my hope is that my skill set is able to help work through that. Okay. So, so but you realize that you're on the SFA board, right? Yes. Not the DOE. Yes. Okay. So, as long as we're clear that you have to make this figure out how to make it work. Yes. You have a person, you know, you have an entity that you have to serve, but at the end of the day, you have to make sure some of these SFA projects move forward. Correct. Okay. Thank you, chair. Thank you. um to testify. Superintendent support. Hello, Chair Kadani, Vice Chair Kim, members of the committee. Keith Aayashi, superintendent, testifying on behalf of the Department of Education. The department stands on its written testimony in support of this measure. Mr. Davis has served the department for nearly three decades holding roles as complex air superintendent, principal, vice principal, regional officer, counselor, and teacher.
These experiences will help to provide the insight on school level impacts on decisions made by the school facilities authority. Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else here wishing to testify on this measure? Next. Next on our agenda, GM780, submitting for consideration and confirmation to the school facilities authority nominee Michael Unavis for a term to expire June 30th, 2029. Can I call her? I don't have Sorry. Just a moment. Alan Oshima to testify. Is he here? Alan had written testimony in support. Is there anyone else here wishing to testify? If not, [Music] Yeah, superintendent. Well, chair, vice chair, members of the committee, Keith Aayashi, superintendent, testifying on behalf of the Department of Education. The department stands on its written testimony and support of this measure. Mr. Unbasami brings over five decades of public service experience, including leadership experience in facilities management, finance, and legislative affairs that will directly align with the responsibilities in helping to guide the facil school facilities authority.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify. Thank you. Question. Anyone else here wishing to testify on this? Michael, please. He's so excited about this. I didn't realize until recently now that when he says five decades sure makes me old. Chair Gdani, vice chair. Fine. Thank you members of the committee. I know all of you and you all know me. Uh recently retired as the associate VP for administrative affairs for the community colleges serving in that position for 31 years a total of 56 at the university. One of those years was really at the DOE as well. Uh among all of the administrative responsibilities that I had in my position, one of the key elements was facilities planning, construction, renovation, repairs, and I had a great team to do all of that uh for the community colleges and I bring a lot of experience to this board in that area.
Uh we've done a lot of work. I think we've done a lot of good work for the community colleges setting priorities living within budgets thanks to uh the legislature. We got appropriations for and directly for the community colleges and that basically was started by uh Chair Kedani uh back when she was CIP chair. Thank you very much for that. that has helped the community colleges immensely in terms of us addressing our priorities in working with the seven campuses. Uh the chancellor has basically also delegated the authority to make decisions about projects uh to me and my staff. So we work with the the campuses to understand their priorities and work within the funding levels that we get from the legislature and ensure that the needs of the campuses are met in in based on their priorities. So um I think I bring a lot of experience to uh this position on this board.
Thank you Michael. questions. Any questions? You told me not to ask too many. And you're wow, you have a lot of power, Michael. There you go. Oh, okay. I agree. Okay. Okay. Well, then I I will ask questions. In question number three of the questionnaire you submitted, you stated, DOE is a client of the SFA. Please explain the comments. Sure. The SFA, like uh Senator Kim explained earlier, has a history in terms of how the DOE did its work when it came to construction. And through its evolution, the SFA was created because DAGs was not able to effectively do what was expected. Uh the DOE did not accomplish the things that they were expected to do and so the SFA was created. 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.
whether it's uh you know for any K through 12 uh programs it's the DOE's responsibility to identify and share those priorities right now with the SFA it's the SFA's duty to then meet those priorities and have an exchange with them and collaboration with them in terms of the funding that's available the priorities that they set and to see whether we are all in agreement to move forward. But again, the client to me is the DOE. It's their programs. It's their students. They know their students needs, their teacher needs, their facilities needs. I think better than the SFA. We're there to implement uh and do the construction design and construction work for them. Thank you, Michael.
Members, any questions? Just follow up real quickly. So, you talked a lot about school facilities, but some of this is not just school facilities, it's workforce housing, it's uh teacher housing and so forth. So um in in that situation uh you yes they're the client but I mean there's other factors right it's not just classrooms and what the students correct and I think we need to understand what those other kinds of the needs are because they're all related to how the DOE delivers its product to the students questions I guess kind of going off of that that you know the unique thing about school facilities authority is that currently how what what the statute says is that you know they get assigned projects right and so how do you think the workflow should be in a in an ideal world where the legislature makes the final decision through the funding mechanism to make things happen.
So we have to be okay giving that money to SFA for them to work on it but then so we have to give the appropriation actually move forward but then the DOE you know at some point yes they have some say but really it's the legislature how how does that relationship all work now you involve us because even though you know the DOE is saying we need this but we have to then say okay yes you need it and then we'll put in SFA versus putting in a DOE is how do you how do you you know be that client if we we're in the middle being the referee because we can be like, "No, Keith, we don't we don't want that. We're going to give you something else and we're going to give it to SFA." Which kind of is what happening right now.
How do you deal with that? Initially, as the DOE sets its priorities for new construction and related construction uh that they feel are needs to meet their needs, uh they should be collaborating with the SFA. If we agree on moving forward with the legislature to ask for and request funding for certain kinds of projects, then that's what we would do. The legislature in their wisdom has the authority to then take what we request and make decisions on how much and whether they're going to fund certain kinds of projects. It is not and this has happened at the university as well when I was there that there are legislative add-ons that are the wishes of the legislature that may not be part of our priorities but if it's uh priorities that the legislature sets for us in certain areas then we would proceed with those kinds of projects as well.
So while I say that yeah it's uh the DOE is the client in all of this the initial uh collaboration between the DOE and the SFA has got to be there to initiate these kinds of things going forward to make those kinds of requests known. Thank you. Thank you. So Mike, where does the accountability fall? the accountability on uh project and I'm I'm thinking you know about Maui the school we built in Maui which everybody said I don't know if everybody but engineers that they chose a site where the rock was really hard it was going to cost us extra money to build a school there but it was insisted insisted insisted insisted and it costs double what a school would cost and then we didn't even put in the overpass and there were all these problems so where does accountability really lies when something like that happens because you know what for too long everybody points the finger and nobody's accountable for that.
Yeah, this you know I don't know whose decision was that they wanted the school there if it was DOE was a legislator of the district whatever but in this case SFA now have that respons sole responsibility so accountability will lie with SFA I think in the end the accountability is with SFA because we're the ones that's doing the construction we're the ones that that's making ultimately the final decision but there has to be a lot of collaboration with the DOE with the uh design consultants with, you know, and those decisions are made together and hopefully we come up with a good decision, the right decision in the end. But there has to be that kind of uh collaboration, good communication and hopefully we can all agree to something in the end uh that we can all live with within the allocations. And there are times that we will have to come back and say in order to get this project project done for this purpose we need more money than what what was initially appropriated.
I mean we've done that in the past as well. So it's a matter of presenting things, understanding things, communicating uh what the project entails, but it's also um being clear about what's needed to be done because so many times we run out of money because we come in with change orders because the entity changes their mind. They don't like the shutters. They don't like the way this window should have been on the other side. You know, the drainage isn't draining correctly. Um, and I don't know it's because it's change orders or because the plans wasn't done correctly or we rushed it, but there's always pro problems with construction and and and the contractor and the contractors bid knowing that there's going to be changes. They know government already and they know going to be changes and so when the change orders come, the price goes up, right, for those change orders.
So, I'm hoping that SFA is going to also be looking at these areas to make sure that we go in with good plans that we bird dog a lot of the problems and that when the entity or the client comes in and say, "Well, now that we think about it, you know, it' be great if we had two fans in this room instead of one, you know." So, those are the things that that if I'm here, I'm going to question if you guys come in and need more money or you can't finish the project. Thank you. I hate change orders. I do too. Question. Question, please. Mike, thank you for being here. Um, are you noticing in your capacity that uh, Department of Education is collaborating well with SFA because in the past projects have kind of been dragged along um, possibly because DOE might not necessarily maybe maybe it's a time issue, maybe it's a disagreement issue.
Um, but are is SFA and DOE on the same page as far as the projects that you folks currently have in place? And do you see DOE being a part of the delay um for completing these projects? Senator, sorry. Um, this is my first introduction to SFA, so I'm not Oh, sorry. You know, the way you were talking, I was just like, "Oh, this guy knows it all." So, I was over here learning No, stay stay. Thank you. But just of what you know and if you if you can't answer that's fine but I would have to look at you know some history in terms of what has been going on and uh you know it's a board of five people. Uh they have maybe seven maybe seven. Um I'm not familiar with the staff of the SFA. Uh, I've I've seen the website. Uh, I'm hoping that I'm sure we have good staff.
Uh, the board will have to depend a lot on staff work. So, even in answering Senator Kim's question about accountability, I depended a lot on my staff. They're the experts. Yeah. Great. Um well just in your capacity uh if you move through in the confirmation process I would like to encourage you to take a look at that um because the whole reason that SFA was put in place was to relieve um DOE from these types of projects but then to expedite the process as well. So no sense we create create entity after entity if it's just continuing to slow the process down. So, um, sounds like you come with a good wealth of knowledge and I know you'll have insight to look into those kinds of things. So, thank you. Thank you. The questions members? If not, thank you, Michael. Thank you. Moving on to GM781, submitting for consideration and confirmation to the school facilities authority rubinatorial nominee Damian Kim for term to expire June 30th, 2020.
For the record, I don't have a conflict. We're not related. Well, we're not related. We may be somewhere down in the family tree. You want to tell us a little bit about yourself? Sure. First of all, thank you for the privilege of being here and being nominated. Um, I have 38 years of experience in the electrical field as an electrician in the state of Hawaii, licensed. Uh prior to that I worked for electrical engineering firm doing um drafting and uh electrical designing. Uh I've worked in a field um on school projects uh throughout my career. Um got into the union position where I deal with developers, contractors. Um sat on the heart board which I believe is harder than this one going to be. So I'm thinking this is not as bad. Yeah, I did nine years of that. Um, hard head to to stay on that.