Lingle vetoes
schools proposalThe governor insists
the Legislature's bill
avoids true reform
Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed the Legislature's education reform bill yesterday, saying it raises false hopes and could make things worse in Hawaii's public schools.
Reform measures urged by Lingle
Changes that Gov. Linda Lingle wants in the education bill:>> Give principals control over 70 percent of their operating budgets in 2005-2006, phasing to 90 percent in the 2007-2008 school year.
>> Put principals on performance contracts.
>> Make school community councils only advisory.
>> Give charter schools a fair share of funding for facilities as well as operations.
>> Launch the "weighted student formula" in 2006, a year earlier than planned.
"This bill contains too many flaws in its present form and clearly does not reinvent education," Lingle said. "It does not even begin to bring about the genuine reform so many fought so hard to achieve."
Instead, she called on legislators to quickly pass another bill incorporating five changes she said would transform it into something she could support, a bill she suggested calling "The Bipartisan Education Reform Act."
Democratic leaders said they would consider her request but are inclined to override her veto before making changes to the bill. With just a week left in the session, they do not want to run the risk of letting her veto stand and winding up with no education bill if agreement is not reached on a replacement measure.
"If we override this veto, at least we would have the bill in place, and then we could consider what changes would make sense," said Sen. Norman Sakamoto (D, Salt Lake-Foster Village), chairman of the Education Committee. "We have worked on many, many drafts to get a good measure."
His counterpart in the House, Rep. Roy Takumi (D, Pearl City-Pacific Palisades), said there is little time left in the session, but legislators will consider the governor's suggestions and see how they can improve the bill.
"I'm a little surprised that it's come so late in the process, since bills have to be done by tomorrow night, not by next week," he said yesterday. "But I welcome any proposal as long as it goes to help our students. We believe our bill reinvents the way our schools are operated and funded. However, any bill can be made better."
The governor sees several fatal flaws in the "Reinventing Education Act of 2004," foremost among them the creation of school community councils that would work with principals to craft academic and financial plans for each school. She said the councils would create bureaucracy and blur lines of accountability because principals would not have final say. She recommended making them simply advisory.
"I think the school community councils would actually make it even worse than it is," she said. "Accountability with the principals just gets destroyed with these councils."
Legislators modeled the councils on those operating in the San Francisco school district.
The governor would also like to ramp up the amount of money controlled by principals. Senate Bill 3238 would give principals control of at least 70 percent of their operating budgets, with the possibility of more in the future. Lingle said they could start with 70 percent but that the bill should mandate 90 percent by the 2007-2008 school year.
"It is only when the principals are given authority for 90 percent or more of the funds at their schools that they truly gain the financial flexibility they need to make meaningful improvements," she said.
But lawmakers have countered that no other school system in the nation gives principals control of 90 percent of their budgets, and principals say they want control over spending related to academics, rather than food service or custodial work, for example.
The governor also wants to adopt a weighted student formula for funding schools a year earlier than planned. The formula would fund schools based on the needs of individual students, rather than on total enrollment. The current bill calls for a year to develop the weighting system, then a year of piloting the program before it goes statewide in the 2006-2007 school year.
Lingle called for faster action, declaring, "It's not rocket science."
"We want all our principals and schools to succeed," responded Sakamoto. "I would rather have some run the course first and come back saying, 'Careful for this bump, careful for that dip,' than have everybody come back with bruised shins and elbows."
The governor also wants to put principals on performance contracts, a plan that is deferred in the current legislation until the 2006-2007 school year, pending consultation with stakeholders. Lei Desha, field services officer for the Hawaii Government Employees Association, said such a change requires negotiation with the union.
"We don't support unilaterally moving principals onto performance contracts," Desha said. "Lack of collaboration is not good for the state."
Lingle called her decision to veto the education bill the hardest of her career because "the public is counting on something happening."
"To let the education bill in its current form become law would mean we would have squandered the chance to achieve real reform," she said. "Let's discard what is wrong with this bill and pass a law that will truly move us forward."
