Big Island charter school fighting for survival

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

A Big Island charter school could file court papers this week to fight the state's efforts to shut its doors.

The Waters of Life New Century Charter School, which is holding class at the Naniloa Resort Hotel in Hilo, faces numerous charges of violations. A lawsuit filed by the attorney general's office — at the request of the Department of Education — accuses the school's organizers of violating health and safety codes and zoning requirements and of exceeding its budget last year by $171,020.

But school director Truitt White said the school's facilities are excellent and have been approved by the county health department.

The $171,020 in deficit spending came from personnel costs, White said. Because all charter school workers are DOE employees, Waters of Life did not know that it had gone over its personnel budget, he said.

"They were responsible for telling us there was a deficit, which they did not do. We would have made adjustments," White said. "Our local school board offered some options to pay off the deficit, but (the DOE) never responded. We could have dealt with it if we had been informed of it."

White said the school has become a political victim in the state's school reform and charter movement. He said the school has received little direction or assistance in navigating the state's bureaucratic channels.

"It seems like there is ambivalence in the state of Hawai'i about charter schools," White said. "We're just a little bitty school with parents who are farmers in this rural area. What do we do? Our school has become like a football with no consideration that the ones who are being harmed are the children themselves."

Hawai'i was one the the last states to join the school reform movement when, in 1999, the Legislature passed a law mandating the establishment of 25 charter schools. Charter schools are part of the DOE, yet have the freedom to experiment with their curriculum and their budget.

White said the school is still waiting to hear if the attorney general's office will provide it with legal counsel. If not, the school will hire an attorney today to answer the state's lawsuit.

Waters of Life has about 90 students, down from 170 at the start of the 2000-'01 school year, White said.

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.