Panel's mission is indeed political
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer
Eddie Flores Jr. runs the popular L&L Drive-Inn chain for a living, so he might not be the first person you'd look to for help in reforming public schools.
But he gives the folks that operate his 75 restaurants in Hawai'i and on the Mainland discretion to make their own decisions, a concept of local control that Gov. Linda Lingle would like to see duplicated in the state's troubled public schools.
"We don't tell them what to do; all we want them to do is make money," said Flores, who was appointed last week to serve on Lingle's Citizens to Achieve Reform in Education committee. "There is even flexibility on the menu. It's not like a McDonald's."
After watching her education reform ideas sputter last session in the Legislature, Lingle formed the committee to help overcome resistance among lawmakers and in the state Department of Education.
While committee members will prepare recommendations by mid-December, Lingle made it clear at their first meeting last week that their mission is political. She asked them to commit one year to building grass roots momentum for a ballot question on creating a handful of local school boards and reforms centered on giving principals more control over school spending.
"We can't just hope that things are going to get better or do another study," Lingle told them.
Almost immediately, though, some educators wondered why the 22-member committee did not include more public-school voices. The committee does have public-school teachers and public and charter school principals, as well as representatives from the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the Board of Education, but Lingle also reached out to the business community.
Along with Flores, Lingle chose Mike O'Neill, CEO of Bank of Hawaii; Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com; and Tareq Hoque, CEO of Firetide Inc.
The committee's consultant is William Ouchi, a professor in corporate renewal at the University of CaliforniaiLos Angeles and one-time chief of staff to former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. Ouchi, whose book, "Making Schools Work," will provide the blueprint for the governor's reform plans, was also an education adviser to Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for California governor.
"This is all political," Ouchi said of reforming Hawai'i's public schools. "There is nothing wrong with the students of Hawai'i. There is nothing wrong with the teachers. There is nothing wrong with the money.
"It's the system that's failing."
Beatrice DeRego, a standards coordinator at Kahuku High and Intermediate School, said the committee appears to have a Republican and pro-school choice bent. "If you want to know what works for schools, you have to get teachers involved," she said. "If you want to know what works for students, you have to get students involved."
Randy Roth, a senior policy adviser to Lingle, said the governor wanted broad representation and expects to involve more people as the committee moves forward. "We'd like to have the business community's support for whatever reform is decided on and accomplished," he said. "They have a stake in student outcomes."
Flores, of L&L Drive-Inn, said the committee is a diverse group. "Business people can bring in a different point of view," he said. "I'm approaching it as a businessman who already runs a decentralized system."
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
