Gathering Place
Roy Takumi
Many ideas and proposals have come forward this session to reform our public school system. Whatever we do must have as its goal the improvement of the individual student in the school. It will take true partnership among all the key parties -- the governor, Legislature, Board of Education, Department of Education, the business community, labor unions, parents and students. This means that sound, deliberate, and thoughtful public policy grounded in experience and research must take precedence over partisan politics and simplistic solutions. New funding formula
gives schools power
to design their futuresWith this in mind, we are proposing a bold, innovative, and fundamental policy shift in the way our schools are funded that emphasizes three components: Accountability, Budget, and Choice (ABC).
Our ABC approach builds upon past efforts to decentralize the DOE through School Community Based Management (SCBM) and by giving schools funds to do their own repairs and equipment purchases.
It is clear that unless schools are given greater financial control, any attempt to decentralize governance structures will not truly empower them. Schools and their principals must be able to use their budget in ways that are reflective of their communities and unique needs. It is a variation of the Golden Rule: If you have the gold, you can make the rules.
>> Accountability: Since each principal will be responsible for, and has authority over, most of the budget, it is far more difficult to blame the "system" for failures of compliance or performance. The accountability is where it should be: at the school level with the principal and the SCBM committee.
>> Budget: The amount of money given to each school is based upon a weighted student formula (WSF).
The Seattle school district adopted this approach in 1995. As pointed out by Professor William Ouchi of the University of California at Los Angeles: In the Seattle system, a "minimum" student -- one who qualifies for no categorical funds -- receives only his or her per capita basic state allocation. The "maximum" student -- one who has multiple learning disabilities, is from a low-income home and who is a non-English speaker -- carries a weighting of up to 9.2 times the basic allocation.
In addition, each school receives a flat block grant of more than $200,000, so that smaller schools can meet their basic costs.
The weighted student formula allows each school to have the authority to develop its own programs and priorities, and those who will have the greatest stake in their outcomes will make decisions.
>> Choice: By implementing the weighted student formula throughout our system, including the charter schools, there will be increased opportunities for parents to choose schools that best address the academic and curriculum needs and goals of their children. Families are empowered by this system because schools must respond, or suffer declining enrollments.
We invite the governor to join us and to work in a bi-partisan, collaborative fashion that will reform our system by bringing resources directly to the schools. This is the way to bring local control and decentralization to where it really counts without additional costs and another layer of bureaucracy. Let's complete the process that started with SCBM. Let's decentralize the system by empowering the individual schools to control their resources in ways that best reflect their needs. Let's give them the flexibility to adjust and to adapt to change quickly and with a minimum of bureaucracy.
Let's do it because it is the right thing to do.
And it's really very simple. Simple as ABC.
Roy Takumi (D, Pearl City) is chairman
of the House Education Committee.