[ OUR OPINION ]
Education reform plan
a good jump-off pointTHE public education reform package produced by Democratic lawmakers does not include the local school boards Governor Lingle wanted, but should be approved by the full Legislature as a good start.
THE ISSUE
The Legislature has put together a bill to improve Hawaii's public schools.
The bill is the first step in what should be a continuing strategy to keep abreast of problems and issues in public education so that stagnation does not overtake the school system again.
The Department of Education, schools superintendent and Board of Education have an obligation not only to put the reforms into action, but to refine and adjust them as time goes by.
Legislators and the administration also should review the results of the changes to gauge how well they are working where they count -- in the classrooms. We urge teachers and administrators to embrace the new plans.
Although the governor was unable to persuade lawmakers to place before voters a constitutional amendment to break up the board and the DOE into regional systems, Lingle deserves credit for prodding them from their lethargy. Legislators who took up the challenge also should be commended.
The bill, scheduled for approval this week, addresses a number of issues of public concern.
It gives principals control of 70 percent of the DOE's budget, which has been viewed as a way to ensure that funds are used for education rather than bureaucracy and sets up a formula pegged to each student's needs.
Recognizing the importance of early childhood learning, it provides $2.1 million to hire teachers to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through grade 2. Funds also are earmarked for math textbooks to reverse low test scores, for positions at the University of Hawaii's College of Education to train more teachers and principals and for full-time student activity coordinators.
The measure sets up councils at each school made up of parents, teachers, principals and staff, students and other community members in hopes of increasing participation and a ration of control.
The bill attempts to deliver more access to the Board of Education by requiring members to conduct meetings in their districts in addition to regular meetings and parent-community networks to promote parental involvement.
These fall short of Lingle's proposal for local boards, which she had sought as a way to boost access and accountability. Legislators had proposed expanding the current board membership, with each member responsive to a specific geographic district, but dropped the idea.
The board's current make-up, based on representative districts, leaves the neighbor islands short of representation. Last week, Lingle cut the number of boards in her plan from seven to four, but the concession came too late. The Legislature should revisit the proposition next year. There will always be room for improvement.
