Kamehameha may join charter school program
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Kamehameha Schools wants to take over some public schools with large numbers of Native Hawaiian students — a move that could strengthen the struggling charter school movement in Hawai'i and bring additional money and resources to campuses that face perennial problems with student test scores, dropouts and poverty.
A bill under consideration by the House Education Committee would allow private nonprofit organizations such as Kamehameha Schools to convert public schools into charter schools.
If the Legislature passes the bill this session, Kamehameha Schools would start operating its first-ever public school campus — probably on Kaua'i — in August.
One other conversion school also could open in August, although the site has not been chosen, and a handful of others would follow in subsequent school years.
Kamehameha Schools would give $1 to the charter campuses for every $4 the Department of Education spends there, and has budgeted $3 million for the effort.
Kamehameha Schools has been criticized for serving only a small percentage of eligible Native Hawaiian students. This new initiative would add hundreds of students to those already benefiting from the estate and would dovetail with an expanded preschool program announced by the schools in December.
It also could mean that for the first time, Kamehameha Schools would serve some non-Hawaiians.
The public-private partnership could have ramifications beyond the conversion of public schools into Kamehameha charters, though. Legislators acknowledged yesterday that the involvement of a powerhouse like Kamehameha Schools would likely force more equitable distribution of state money to all charter schools across the state.
The state's 25 charter schools are dealing with financial difficulties and legal battles that have left some wondering how much longer they can survive. Several experts say that unless things change, most Hawai'i charter schools will have to close within two years because of financial shortfalls.
Charter schools now receive $2,997 per pupil, an amount less than the $3,286 a regular public school receives and far below the $6,400 in overall state spending per pupil when special education, capital improvements and other state services are added in. Teachers at charter schools also do not accrue seniority within the Department of Education, which adversely affects them if they want to transfer to a different campus.
"This is going to be an interesting experiment," said Rep. Mark Takai, D-34th (Waimalu, Newtown, Pearl City). "My guess is that you won't participate in this unless you get what you consider to be the true allocation."
Not a 'substitute'
Kamehameha Schools CEO Hamilton McCubbin called the bill a win-win move for the state that could open the door to more public and private partnerships. But he said the private money isn't meant as a cost saving for the state.
"The school should operate at least on its current budget," McCubbin said. "We'll add value. It won't be a substitute."
Kamehameha Schools, a multibillion-dollar foundation, was created in 1884 by the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, great-granddaughter of King Kamehameha I, and tasked with educating children of Hawaiian ancestry. Revenue from more than 300,000 acres of Hawai'i land and other investments around the world is used to finance the Kamehameha Schools' 600-acre campus on Kapalama Heights in Honolulu and smaller campuses on Maui and the Big Island.
Charter schools use public dollars but operate largely independent of school bureaucracies, which advocates say makes them more efficient, responsive to parents and creative in their curriculum.
Kamehameha Schools needs approval from the Internal Revenue Service, probate court and attorney general's office to expand into charter schools. McCubbin said the schools would establish a separate nonprofit entity to help pay for and operate the schools.
Kamehameha Schools representatives would make up a minority of the membership on the local school board that would operate the conversion charter schools; representatives from the community and the Department of Education would make up the majority of the board.
Community advisers
Advisory panels made up of faculty and community members would be established on each campus.
McCubbin said he has been contacted by some schools interested in participating, but also would rely on the DOE for advice and approach schools that Kamehameha officials believe qualify for the conversion.
Areas suggested in the past have included Waimanalo and Nanakuli. Nanakuli Elementary has partnered with Kamehameha Schools for the past two years on a reading program. But a Kaua'i school will come first because Kamehameha Schools has had no physical presence there.
Although many voiced concerned about certain portions of the bill, it has the support of the Department of Education, the Hawai'i Business Roundtable, the Hawai'i Association of Independent Schools and the Chamber of Commerce as well as representatives of several charter schools.
It is opposed by the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the Hawai'i Government Employees Association, which noted the financial concerns at present charter schools and issues with the privatization of public schools. Libby Oshiyama, president of the Hawai'i Association of Charter Schools, said she is concerned about an erosion in the level of community involvement — the cornerstone of charter schools — when a private entity gets involved.
Teachers, administrators and parents would have to approve the switch to a charter school.
A committee vote on the bill was deferred until Tuesday but the proposal appears to have wide support. House Speaker Calvin Say introduced the legislation and 21 representatives have signed on.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
