Governor gives
public schools an F

Autonomy for the Education
Department is supported
as a solution

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii's public schools have failed a generation of students, and lawmakers need to move quickly to revitalize the system, Gov. Ben Cayetano says.

Worthy of consideration, Cayetano said yesterday, is Senate President Norman Mizuguchi's proposal to establish the Department of Education as an independent political entity and give the Board of Education taxing authority so that they're solely responsible for lower education.

That'll end the finger-pointing that exists among the governor, the Legislature and the school board, Cayetano and others say.

But, said Cayetano, caution and deliberation should guide any assessment of what Mizuguchi (D, Aiea) is suggesting so that "the trade-offs and ramifications" are fully understood.

That's why it might be best to have a task force made up of school board members, lawmakers and even administration officials study Mizuguchi's initiative, he said.

Lawmakers lagging

One question the task force might consider: If the Board of Education becomes financially responsible for the school system, does that mean the Legislature will no longer have the authority to pass laws regarding education that may mandate new responsibilities for the Department of Education?

Cayetano is most frustrated, he said, by what appears to be lawmakers' lack of urgency in reforming the educational system, whose students rank among the nation's worst in taking standardized tests. "We have probably lost a generation of kids already to a system, which does not work very well," Cayetano added.

Cayetano prefers having the governor appoint the now-elected school board. That would make the governor the person who would be ultimately accountable for education, rather than the board, as Mizuguchi envisions.

Perhaps both ideas, not just Mizuguchi's, could be placed before voters in next year's general election as proposed constitutional amendments, since both ideas require changing the Hawaii Constitution, Cayetano said.

Mizuguchi said, "You can nitpick the proposal, but I haven't seen anything comparable to excite people. People have been coming up to me and they're sort of excited that, 'Hey, maybe these guys have gotten the message that in education we're sort of underachieving , we're underperforming.' "

'It will take courage'

Mizuguchi said his proposal gives the Department of Education and the school board considerable fiscal resources - the power to impose a retail sales tax and control over the state's personal income tax, which generates about $1.15 billion annually, a little more than what the state now spends on lower education.

"It will take courage on the Legislature's part to back away from not having any authority, really, in the area of education," Mizuguchi said.

House Majority Leader Ed Case (D, Manoa) said the House, which favors an appointed school board, has not done a study of Mizuguchi's proposal, nor has it been discussed in caucus.

But speaking as an individual lawmaker, Case said, "The (educational) status quo is not an option. So, in that context, I welcome Senate President Mizuguchi's initiative."

While he favors revamping the education governance and management structure, Case is opposed to the Legislature delegating taxing authority to the school board.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association is lauding Mizuguchi's initiative as "a bold idea," said spokeswoman Danielle Lum.