Schools superintendent
proposes reorganization

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

State School Superintendent Paul LeMahieu is planning a reorganization of the Department of Education's state offices to make the public schools more efficient and responsive.

"We're doing this for the purpose of having the organization function better and revitalize how we do the work," LeMahieu said yesterday.

No positions will be cut in the restructuring that is planned to take effect July 1, he said. But functions of five state offices will be consolidated into three.

The matter is scheduled to be at 1 p.m. Monday during the board's Support Services Committee meeting.

Committee Chairman Keith Sakata said board members have many questions about the superintendent's proposal.

"Once you start a reorganization, you can't pull back," Sakata said. "We want to see what the final product will be."

The department's state operations are divided into five main parts:

Office of Accountability and School Instructional Support, commonly referred to by the acronym OASIS, which develops classroom curriculum.
Office of Business Services, which oversees payroll, facilities, school transportation, food services and procurement.
Office of Information and Telecommunication Services, which supports administrative computer data and computer education in the classroom.
Office of Personnel Services, which includes certification, hiring, labor relations and employee benefits.
Operations of the districts and schools.

Under LeMahieu's plan, the offices of Business Services and Personnel Services and the in-house information management functions of the information and telecommunications office will be combined into the new Division of Administrative Support Services.

OASIS will be combined with the educational technology sector to form the Division of Learner, Teacher and School Support. The third function will remain the operations of the districts and schools.

As a result of the reorganization, a new office of external relations would be created. Services would include department communications, a conflict and resolution expert so people know where to turn if they have a complaint and a liaison for outside groups such as businesses, the military and native Hawaiian interests.

The role of the department's budget office would also be redefined as seen through its new name - Office of Strategic Planning, Budget and Resource Development.