BOE accused of Faculty, staff, students and parents at Lanikai Elementary School joined state House Republicans in accusing the Board of Education of trying to undermine charter schools.
undermining
charter schools
Lanikai Elementary supporters
say new regulations unfairly
penalize teachersBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.comAt a news conference yesterday the group complained about cuts in teachers' benefits due to recent changes in the law governing charter schools as well as funding.
Rep. Joe Gomes (R, Waimanalo, Enchanted Lake, Kailua) said removing teacher benefits and changes in funding is "like a squeeze-play against the charter schools."
"It seems incredibly unfair to penalize teachers who want to teach at charter schools," said Rep. Mindy Jaffe (R, Diamond Head, Kaimuki, Kapahulu, Waikiki), speaking for Waialae Elementary School.
Lanikai teacher Donna Therrien said after this school year, charter school teachers will no longer be able to acquire seniority as tenured teachers with the Department of Education, although they meet department standards.
She said teachers told the Lanikai school board on Nov. 27 that they may be forced to leave the school.
Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen said he's puzzled by the Republicans' complaints because they often call for separate community school boards, yet they are asking to remain part of the DOE's centralized statewide system.
He likened the situation to private school teachers getting tenure in public schools. He added that the local school boards could set up their own tenure system.
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 money through a contract or charter with the state.
Lanikai principal Donna Estomago said another issue is school funding.
"Our children here are second-class citizens," she said. "They get less than the rest of the public school students."
Estomago said the DOE deducted administrative costs from the school's budget before a charter schools administrative office was set up, and she is fighting to get that money back.
She is also concerned about funding for special education students.
She said the school has a high ratio of special education students because charter schools are open to all, so many Lanikai students come from as far away as Kahaluu.
Lanikai and Waialae schools both started as school-community-based management schools and were converted into charter schools, placing them in the same category as start-up charter schools.
"There may be an argument for something different for these two conversion schools (Lanikai and Waialae) that were regular public schools before because they have different responsibilities in serving regular attendance areas as opposed to regular charter schools," Knudsen said.
He added, "It raises the accountability question" on whether a school's books ought to be open, allowing knowledge of what the school's full funding is.
The schools are allowed to seek funding from sources other than the state.
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