By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer
The chairman of the Senate Education Committee said yesterday that he would kill a bill that contains a clause inserted by the governor that opponents say would be the death of Hawai‘i’s fledgling charter school movement.
A large crowd of charter school advocates testified yesterday against what they have dubbed the "sunset bill," objecting to a clause suggested by Gov. Ben Cayetano that would repeal any new charter school in 2005.
"How can I expect my staff, my parents and my students to work tirelessly to achieve their highest level when there is a law that says no matter how successful you are, in June of 2005 your doors will close?" said Ku Kahakalau of Kanu O Ka ‘Aina Charter School on the Big Island.
The Legislature passed the charter school law just two years ago, mandating the Board of Education to approve 25 charters. Six schools are open and five more have been approved for the school year beginning this fall. But the board and state lawmakers have expressed increasing concerns about the potential cost of the schools and how to ensure they offer a safe and appropriate education.
Department of Education officials say the sunset clause was included at the governor’s request. The governor’s press secretary said he suggested it as a solution to concerns brought to him by the department.
"(Gov. Ben Cayetano) is not against charter schools, but the charter law that is in place is raising issues that were not expected, and there needs to be some resolution to those issues if the law is to continue in place," said spokeswoman Kim Murakawa.
Senate Education Chairman Norman Sakamoto, D-16th (Moanalua, Salt Lake), said there are important charter issues that need to be resolved, but he does not agree with the sunset clause. He said the committee plans to hold the bill when it votes on Wednesday, likely killing it for the session. He said the committee also would hold the concurrent House bill.
"We did authorize 25 (charter schools), and my feeling is we should keep them going as long as they perform," Sakamoto said.
Murakawa said the governor’s vision for charter schools was for so-called "conversion schools," existing public schools that convert to charter status. The first two charters in the state went to Lanikai and Wai‘alae elementaries, which were such schools. But all other applicants have been new schools, which require new staff and facilities.
The department has said staffing those new schools would cost at least $6.8 million — money that may have to come from existing schools, because funding for new charter schools has not been budgeted.
"The argument that we cannot afford charter schools is simply not convincing," said Mary Anne Raywid of the League of Women Voters and a nationally recognized authority on school reform. "Not when the governor can propose extending school expenditures to cover brand new populations — pre-kindergartners and college scholarships — not to mention investing in aquariums ."
The charter school reform movement aims to free public schools from red tape and generate innovative methods and improvement within the public school system. Like independent public schools, charters are free to manage their own money and experiment with curriculum, but are still bound by collective bargaining and must open their doors to all students.
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