More oversight urged for charter schools
By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer
A Board of Education member is calling for stricter oversight of Hawai'i's charter schools as the state moves to shut down one facility that is facing numerous charges of violations.
The attorney general's office filed a lawsuit last week asking the Circuit Court to close the Waters of Life New Century Charter School, which is holding class at the Naniloa Resort Hotel in Hilo. The suit accuses the school's organizers of violating health and safety codes and zoning requirements and of exceeding its budget last year by $171,020.
The BOE asked the attorney general to intervene, said board member Donna Ikeda, because the board does not have the authority to terminate the charter itself. There are other charters that have problems similar to those at Waters of Life, Ikeda said, and she wants the law changed to give the board more control.
"We need to have the authorization to close down when we see a problem, to be able to suspend operations and then go through a process of determining whether or not things can be fixed or whether it should be closed permanently," she said. "Somebody has to (have that authority), otherwise these kinds of things are going to continue and they'll get worse."
But charter advocates warn that too much oversight will take away from the intent of the reform movement.
"The difficulty with traditional educational agencies is that they emphasize so much process that they reimpose on charter schools the very regulations that charters were designed to be able to escape so they could focus on education," said Chris Braunlich, vice president of the Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C.
Hawai'i was one of the last states to join the reform movement when the Legislature passed a 1999 law mandating the establishment of 25 charter schools. Charter schools are part of the Department of Education, yet have the freedom to experiment with their curriculum and their budget. Many of the charters emphasize Hawaiian culture and values, catering to a group of children that some say are ill-served in the public school system.
While the reform movement is showing signs of success on the Mainland, Hawai'istill is experiencing many growing pains. Charter advocates have, at times, accused department staff and board members of being less than supportive. Board members have said the movement was launched without adequate time for planning.
And while they say they support the effort, they also are worried that charters will become a timely and costly drain on an already struggling system.
Since it opened its doors last year, Waters of Life has become the focus for many of the concerns.
The school ran into problems with both neighbors and county regulations when it began holding classes in two houses in rural Puna.
Authorities investigated reports of overcrowding, inadequate bathroom and kitchen facilities and fire code violations. There also were indications of problems when the school lost a large number of its students and staff after its first year.
Ikeda said it's difficult to know how Waters of Life is faring academically because the school has not given the board the annual self-evaluation report that was due at the end of the last school year.
And then there are the financial problems. There are concerns that the school claimed a higher enrollment last year than it actually had, Ikeda said. That boosts the school's revenues, which are calculated on a per pupil basis.
The lawsuit also charges that Waters of Life spent $171,020 more than it was allocated. That means the school spent money intended for staff salaries on something else, Ikeda said, and she wants to know what.
Waters of Life co-director Truitt White did not return calls yesterday.
Supporters of the charter movement say that Waters of Life's failures are not really surprising. But they say a large part of the responsibility falls on the board and Department of Education and the charter school law.
"Their failure is not unexpected, given that they were one of the first (charters) and that the DOE itself had no idea how to interface with charter schools, and ... the frustration of trying to find your way through a system that is not used to having any new kids on the block," said Nina Buchanan, director of the University of Hawai'i Charter School Resource Center on the Big Island.
Most of the new charters have struggled to find adequate facilities, she said. In addition, they must pay for those facilities from their operating budget, which is less than that of other public schools, she said.
The Center for Education Reform's Braunlich also said that one of the strengths of the charter movement is that there are some that don't survive.
"About 4 percent of the charters fail," he said. "And frankly that's a healthy sign because the difference between a charter school and a traditional public school is that when a charter school fails, it goes out of business; when a traditional public school fails, it just keeps failing and gets propped up and does damage to kids."
Reach Alice Keesing at akeesing@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.
