Posted on: Saturday, March 23, 2002

Give charter schools a fair shot at success

Three years after the state Legislature approved a plan for 25 charter schools, the reform movement is struggling with its financing and plagued with second-class status.

Now, a report from the research arm of the state Legislature points out the inequities between charter schools and regular Department of Education public schools. Clearly, the DOE regards charter schools a burden on its resources. That's a shame because the state has much to gain from educational choice.

In the best of worlds, charter schools serve children who don't do well in the cookie-cutter environment of regular public schools. They serve students with special-education needs, Native Hawaiians, children who would otherwise be home-schooled. Simply put, they're independent public schools, formed by teachers, parents or community members, with a lot more freedom to tailor their curriculum to their students' needs.

Yet the stark reality is, restrictive legislation has limited their independence and they continue to be hampered by financial constraints and red tape. That's because they're still tethered to the DOE.

The DOE estimates it will cost the agency $11 million to run charter schools next year, a substantial burden considering the Legislature has never provided extra funding for charter schools. Indeed, when legislators approved the charter school plan, they expected regular public schools to convert to charter schools. Instead, most charter schools have started from scratch, which entails more DOE involvement and resources than anticipated.

As it stands, charter schools receive fewer dollars per pupil than regular public schools. The DOE says that's because they continue to provide certain services for charter schools. However, it's unclear exactly what services the DOE provides to charter schools, and whether the schools even need them.

That all could change. A bill awaiting Gov. Ben Cayetano's signature would allow private, nonprofit organizations, such as Kamehameha Schools, to operate and manage some public schools as charter schools. That could mean millions of extra dollars for certain schools because the nonprofit groups would have to make matching contributions.

Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto worries that such legislation would create greater inequities in the public schools system. Some schools would get more money than others. That's a legitimate concern, and it's going to be a formidable challenge to ensure a measure of parity among the campuses.

However, the push for extra funding for charter schools comes largely as a result of them being treated like the DOE's stepchildren.

Some have suggested that the DOE is threatened by the potential success of charter schools. If they thrive too well independently, there'll be less need for a centralized education bureaucracy. But such speculation is premature. Right now, Hawai'i's charter school movement is still in its embryonic stage. Some schools will succeed and others are bound to fail.

Let's get charter schools adequate support, disband those that fall woefully short of their mission and let the cream rise to the top.