Lingle asks for vote on schools
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday called for letting voters decide whether Hawai'i should keep its single, statewide school district or splinter the Department of Education into seven smaller districts separated by geography.
Although details are sketchy on exactly how the plan would work, Lingle testified before the House Committee on Education that Hawai'i residents should finally have their say in a fundamental concept that lawmakers have kicked around for years.
"This would put the issue to rest," Lingle said.
It was the first time as governor that Lingle has testified before a legislative committee on a bill. Changing the school governance structure was a key campaign issue for her and continues to be one of her top education goals.
House Bill 1082 would create locally elected boards for Kaua'i, Maui, the Big Island, Honolulu and Leeward, Central and Windward O'ahu.
Despite Lingle's testimony, the bill was deferred by the Committee on Education along with a number of other governance bills.
Although the DOE has district offices that follow the geographic lines specified in Bill 1082, adding locally elected school boards with decision-making and spending authority would require voter approval of a constitutional amendment. "It would in fact be a bold departure from what we're doing now," Lingle said.
She noted that Neighbor Island residents in particular are not happy with the administrative decisions coming from Honolulu, and that no other state has a single-district structure.
Board of Education Chairman Herbert Watanabe said he is concerned that creating seven boards would create more bureaucracy and pit the islands against one other for a greater share of state money.
"All we hear is that they want to put this on the ballot and let the people decide," Watanabe said. "What are the details in terms of cost? Is this process going to improve learning?"
Superintendent Pat Hamamoto said that having a single district has made it easier to try to come into compliance with the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind as well as the Felix consent decree, which mandates improved special-education services across the state.
A variety of bills this session look at DOE governance, from having a governor-appointed school board to giving the Board of Education taxing authority or adding more members to the school board.
Lingle said that most of the other bills "tinker around the edges" of the real problem with the schools.
The only bill that passed out of committee yesterday was one that would create a committee to review the structure of the DOE and make recommendations on how to change it.
Committee chairman Rep. Roy Takumi, D-36th (Pearl City, Palisades), said governance issues are complex and can't be decided by the committee in one afternoon, but will likely return later in the session.
Similar proposals to create local school boards died in the Legislature last session, although the idea had the support of both Republicans and Democrats and appeared to resonate with the public.
Late in the last session, an unlikely alliance of the teachers' union, the Board of Education, then-Gov. Ben Cayetano and DOE officials opposed the bill, while nearly all lawmakers wanted to see some type of change.
Yesterday, the bill had the support of the League of Women Voters and the Hawai'i Association of Charter Schools, and was opposed by the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the Hawai'i Government Employees Association.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
