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On Politics Richard Borreca |
Lingle could add some
zing to BOE electionWhile expressing her dissatisfaction with the present setup, Governor Lingle is looking at how she can make her case with a new state Board of Education that agrees with her.
During her successful election campaign, Lingle argued that the Department of Education's "one size fits all" approach to education had failed.
"Too much is at stake to put up with the status quo for even one more year," Lingle said on the campaign trail.
Now in office for a year, Lingle continues to push education reform. Her plan for local accountability calls for turning the one statewide school board into seven elected boards plus an appointed super-statewide board.
A Lingle-appointed community task force is mulling over its recommendations before sending the package to the Legislature.
But readers or consumers of public education would be foolish to think the debate about school reforms ends in the classroom.
The fight is part of a new wave of politics in Hawaii. Fueled by dissatisfaction with the established government and a demand for a higher quality of life, voters are willing to embrace the "none of the above -- anyone but an incumbent" movement that dominates so much of political debate.
It would be equally foolish, however, to think that such change is welcomed, especially by institutions such as the DOE that successfully resisted the reform efforts of the two previous Democratic governors.
Lingle appreciates that trend and told reporters last week that she is willing to endorse school board candidates who are "in alignment" with her.
"If they felt weighted school formulas were important, charter schools are an important option, that decision making on the local level through local school boards was essential," Lingle said, she then would help them.
That would be no small favor to a BOE candidate, because the race is largely ignored and voter interest is hard to develop. If Lingle runs ads, makes an appearance or offers a letter in support of a BOE candidate, it would be a powerful political statement.
The political overtones of the DOE fight are obvious and likely to ensnare DOE defenders. Already the DOE's communication's director, Greg Knudsen, was caught trying to discredit the work done by William Ouchi, an education reform expert helping Lingle. The interesting point is that Knudsen ran for the state House last year as a Democrat and is married to Karen Knudsen, a veteran of four terms on the school board.
Karen Knudsen said she "would love it" if Lingle got involved in the school board races, because they are so low-profile and get little media attention.
"Any attention the governor can give is good," she said.
For Republicans and Democrats, however, stressing the political and not the pupils in the education reform battle is not likely to pay big dividends.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Richard Borreca writes on politics every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin. He can be reached at 525-8630 or by e-mail at rborreca@starbulletin.com.