By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

Sick of being blamed for the ills of the public schools, school board members are blaming back.

Since the start of the legislative session, politicians have pointed fingers at the board for everything from low test scores to poor school facilities. A host of bills winning wide-ranging support at the Legislature would do away with the Board of Education, replacing it with either seven or 15 local school boards.

Now board members are fighting back. Or at least they're promising to issue a press release soon.

"I think it's time that we call a spade a spade," said board member Donna Ikeda.

Lawmakers keep asking the BOE to come up with an alternative to the governance structure of the public schools — a loaded question if there ever was one. If BOE members respond, it's an acknowledgment that they don't think their own positions merit existence. "Let's not give them something to use against us," board member Winston Sakurai said.

But now it looks like the BOE has an answer for lawmakers: Leave us alone.

Board members decided last week to ask legislators for constitutional autonomy. They want their own share of the state budget and taxing authority. "If you want to hold us responsible, give us autonomy," said board chairman Herbert Watanabe.

Board members say that the legislators are equally responsible for problems in the public school system and that most of the problems are a result of the Legislature not having appropriated enough money.

Hawai'i ranks lower than nearly every other state on money spent on education, is second highest for the percentage of teachers among total staff, and spends less than most states do on administration, according to Education Week's Quality Counts Survey.

"The Legislature is equally responsible for micromanaging all the bills that tell the department what to do," Ikeda said.

She has a point. Everything from new libraries to playground equipment is a political battle.

The University of Hawai'i complained of these practices for years before finally winning constitutional autonomy in 2000. Never mind that no one at UH can adequately explain just what autonomy means. Even President Evan Dobelle has said he's not sure.

The BOE wants it, too.

Shannon Ajifu wanted the board to actually sit down and have a serious discussion about the governance issues before responding to lawmakers. Lex Brodie also thought that asking for autonomy would make the situation worse. But most of their colleagues said there simply isn't time for that. The board has to act and have some type of response, they said, and the BOE has always supported autonomy.