The Hawaii Department of Education has placed Kapaa High School teacher Billy DeCosta, a member of the Kauai County Council, on a leave of absence following an undisclosed incident that remains under investigation.

DOE spokesman Derek Inoshita said in an email Thursday that he could not provide details during an active personnel investigation about the cause of DeCosta’s forced leave from the school. 

DeCosta declined to comment.

The length of the leave will depend on how long it takes to conduct the investigation. Usually, it’s done within 30 working days, Inoshita said. But due to employee privacy concerns, he said he would not be able to reveal the outcome of the investigation.

DeCosta, 58, teaches building and construction as part of the high school’s career and technical education program. The residential and commercial construction curriculum is designed for students with an interest in building trades, such as carpentry, masonry, facilities maintenance and plumbing, with an emphasis on tool use and safety, according to the course description handbook.

In 2022, DeCosta was elected to his first term on the seven-member Kauai County Council. He campaigned on a platform that challenged the island’s precarious dependence on food imports with a proposal to establish dormitory-style housing for farmers and ranchers on underutilized agricultural lands. He also advocated for county affordable housing projects and increased urban core development.

A special emergency meeting was held Thursday afternoon by the council to address a threat made against DeCosta, although it’s unclear whether the two incidents are connected.

County Council Chair Mel Rapozo said an unidentified man left a threatening note on DeCosta’s desk in his council office earlier this week. The councilman found the note at 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to Rapozo.

DeCosta declined to comment on the threat.

The incident is being investigated by the FBI and the Kauai Police Department. KPD spokewoman Tiana Victorino said in an email that she could not provide details about the threat while it’s under investigation.

“I was a cop for many years and I saw it as a credible threat,” Rapozo said Thursday. “So we were highly concerned because of that and because of the suspicious guy that was roaming around the office. I called the meeting because I felt it was an emergency for the safety of our council.”

The purpose of the emergency meeting, partly held in executive session, was to discuss security measures that could be taken to ensure the safety and security of the council members.

On Thursday, Kauai police officers provided extra security at the County Building in Lihue that hosts the offices of the council members, the council services division and the council chambers. Starting Friday, full-time private security guards will be stationed at the building. 

Extra security may be a temporary measure, but Rapozo said he would like to designate funding in the budget to keep the enhanced security in place. He wasn’t sure what the added cost might be yet.

Other added security measures include a sign-in sheet to keep track of who enters the building and when. All of the council members’ interactions with members of the public will now be conducted in a conference room instead of in the council members’ private offices.

“It might be a little bit more inconvenient for the public to get access but we’re not going to deny access, we’re going to have more protocols for safety,” Rapozo said.

Rapozo said he was not aware of DeCosta’s teaching job leave of absence.

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