Kokua Line

By June Watanabe

Wednesday, April 2, 1997

Public schools are limited
in how helpful they can be

I have been a Hawaii resident all my life. Recently, I went to a public high school that my son would be attending if I weren't paying for his private school tuition. I was told by the school I could not see pamphlets or other information they might have. I am mad because I am a taxpayer. I don't get a tax credit for sending him to private school. The principal, vice principal and DOE district superintendent were all too busy to talk to me. Why can't I get information from the school?

Unfortunately, you did not say what school you went to or what kind of information you sought, so it's hard to give you a definitive answer.

In general, materials for schools are not developed with a surplus for outside distribution, said Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen. That might account for your problem.

"Generally, someone not enrolled in a particular school wouldn't be entitled to that information," Knudsen said. "If there is a reasonable request, say for the DOE's requirements for graduation or something like that ... then some of that would be general public information. If the school didn't have that, we could probably provide it in some way."

You can call his office at 586-3230 to see if that's the case.

However, Knudsen said your point about being a taxpayer entitled to certain privileges "opens up a whole new realm. In general, you do need to be enrolled at a school to be entitled to the materials and to participate in activities."

Some students who are being home-schooled or even some in private schools have asked to participate in sports and clubs at public schools, "but it just doesn't work that way," Knudsen said. "There's no practical or logistical way of accommodating that interest. That's a broader debate that has not been settled at all."