In a move that stunned Washington Middle School, longtime principal Michael Harano was placed on paid leave after what he describes as a routine audit tied to the campus’s professional-grade recording studio. Harano, who has led the Honolulu campus for 25 years, said he was escorted off school grounds and that he fully intends to fight the suspension rather than quietly step aside. His union, the Hawaii Government Employees Association, has blasted the state Department of Education for what it calls a vague decision and says officials have not identified any serious allegations against him.
Harano told reporters that complex-area superintendent Linell Dilwith informed him of the investigation but would not share details from the audit. “I do not even know what the audit says,” he said. The suspension appears to center on a roughly $2.5 million facility known as the Line Studio, a professional-level recording space on campus. The Hawaii State Department of Education told reporters it found an arrangement that let outside professionals pay to use the studio “inappropriate” and added that it is committed to using the facility in ways that are integrated into student learning, according to Hawaii News Now.
How the Line Studio Came Together
The Line Studio is the result of an eight-year push to turn a 1,600-square-foot classroom into a professional audio and video complex meant to serve both Title I students and the island’s broader music community. Industry materials describe it as a multi-million-dollar project designed to work as a classroom and a commercial production space, with acoustic and systems design handled by WSDG.
Organizers pitched the space as a hands-on bridge to careers in music and media, giving public school students access to the kind of technology usually reserved for high-end studios, as reported by Hawai‘i Public Radio.
Staff Changes And Union Pushback
Even before the dust has settled, Harano’s interim replacement has already rolled back several hiring decisions for the coming school year. One of the most visible casualties is Sam Fong, the audio engineer who led construction and management of the Line Studio starting in 2015. Fong said he was told he was not the top candidate for his position and is now unemployed.
HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira called the departures a loss for the state and said the Department of Education has been “very vague” about its reasoning. Harano has been just as blunt, telling reporters that he will contest the suspension and does not plan to slip quietly into retirement, according to Hawaii News Now.
What’s Next For The Campus
The department has not released an itemized version of the audit or a detailed explanation of the personnel moves, leaving parents, community partners and staff searching for clarity about how the Line Studio will be used going forward. Harano’s case is now moving through the Hawaii State Department of Education’s administrative review process, and the union has signaled it will push for transparency and due process at every step.
For now, Washington Middle School is caught between two priorities that are not easy to juggle at the same time: protecting student access to a rare, high-end learning resource and addressing oversight questions raised by the audit that triggered this high-profile shakeup.
