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Charter schools Hawaii's charter schools fought to stay alive yesterday.
battle ‘sunset’
provision
The HGEA testifies in favor
of the bill, saying issues
must be addressedBy Crystal Kua
Star-BulletinThe schools defeated a bill that they said would have meant death to their goal of creating innovative public schools free of bureaucratic obstacles.
At least one charter school advocate said she hopes the decision by the Senate Education Committee to kill the bill -- which would have repealed charter schools in four years -- will set a pattern for other bills seen as a threat to the charter school movement.
"There's definitely other things, but this was just a really blatant anti-charter school one that we really were hoping that we could kill right now," said Ku Kahakalau, director of Kanu O Ka Aina Public Charter School on the Big Island. "We surely intend to continue the strong lobbying efforts."
Charter schools in Hawaii are publicly funded schools that are free from most laws and regulations except collective bargaining, health and safety, discrimination and federal policies.
Schools are held accountable for student performance and monies through a contract or charter with the state.
Senate Bill 1085 would have done two things.
First, it would have transferred the authority to set the amount of public money allocated to each charter school from the state auditor to the superintendent of schools.
Second, and more controversial, the bill would have established a "sunset" provision that would have meant the end of all charter schools in 2005.
Laurel Johnston, Department of Education assistant superintendent, told the committee that the sunset provision came at the request of the governor as a way to provide the Legislature with a mechanism for periodic review of charter schools.
Senate Education Chairman Norman Sakamoto said that while he would recommend that the bill be held in committee, the discussion needs to continue to make sure that charter schools are performing according to the law.
Sakamoto said it is the Legislature's job to make sure that schools don't abuse the added freedoms granted under the law.
The Hawaii Government Employees Association testified in favor of the bill, saying there are a host of charter school issues that need to be resolved, including liability, personnel, funding, health and safety.
But dozens of charter school supporters, including students, teachers, parents, administrators and community groups, not only testified against the measure but told of the successes of charter schools.
Alvah Kamanaohoohie Ruis, a 10th-grader at Kanu O Ka Aina, told the committee that he wasn't inspired to go to school before attending Kanu but that his attitude about school has changed. "I no like stay home and be bored."
While the current charter school law -- last amended in 1999 to include the start-up of new charter schools -- isn't perfect, it offers the best blueprint for change and reform for Hawaii's public school, advocates said.
"A sunset law would be death to all efforts before anything substantial can be achieved," said Donna Estomago, principal of Lanikai School, one of the state's first charter schools.
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