Former business executive and school leader Randy Moore is coming out of retirement to take an interim role managing facilities and operations for the Hawaii Department of Education.

Effective Monday, Moore will serve as an interim deputy superintendent in the DOE. He succeeds Curt Otaguro, who was appointed to the job in August 2022 and will be leaving DOE later this month.

Moore, 85, formerly oversaw school safety, facilities, meal services and more as a DOE assistant superintendent from 2006 to 2012. He then served on the University of Hawaii Board of Regents for a decade before stepping down last year.

The change in leadership comes as DOE struggles to spend millions in funding for school construction projects. The department reported last month that it plans to let roughly $275 million in funds expire because permitting delays and supply chain shortages have slowed its construction process.

“This was not expected,” Moore said of his role in the DOE, adding that he plans to retire for a third time once he finishes serving as deputy superintendent.

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.