Cost of reforms difficult to pin down
| • | Canadian system is model for school reform here |
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer
So how much will education reform cost?
Members of Gov. Linda Lingle's Citizens Achieving Reform in Education committee believe the state can convert to a new student spending formula and local school boards within the estimated $1.9 billion Hawai'i now spends on public education, mostly by shifting money from administration to schools.
When the state Department of Education last studied a similar student spending formula, in 1994, budget officials found it would take an extra $110 million over five years to cover the gaps between schools. Lionel Aono, a former DOE budget director, has told the CARE committee that it would cost at least $1 million more to operate seven local school boards.
In the DOE's new report to the Legislature, budget analysts noted that additional money may be needed to help schools during the transition, to train principals and staff on the formula, and to set up a reliable computer system to monitor spending. The CARE committee will also recommend salary increases for principals to compensate for the greater responsibility they would have over school finance.
Local school boards have been the standard for school governance nationally but have come under criticism over their relevance and effectiveness in an era of increasing state and federal control. The number of local school boards has fallen from 127,500 in the early 1930s to about 15,000 today.
Lingle, the DOE, the state teacher's union and key Democrats are at odds over whether local school boards are needed in Hawai'i, and the dispute could dominate the debate over education in the Legislature next session.
"It's funny because the rest of the country seems to be trying to get rid of local school boards," said Marguerite Roza, a research professor at the University of Washington. "But it is probably easier to start from scratch with local school boards and student-based budgeting."
Steven Adamowski, an education professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, said the state can have a new student spending formula without the added bureaucracy and political pressures of local school boards.
"I think Hawai'i has a clean shot at having the most equitable funding system in the country," said Adamowski, the former schools superintendent in Cincinnati.
"I hope the school board issue doesn't become a distraction."
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
