Priority is classroom, not boards, poll finds
| • | Poll shows support strong for Democrats' school plan |
| • | Chart: Ranking what's most important for education |
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer
Donald Graber, a retired accountant, can't figure out why public schools don't seem to have enough textbooks or other essential supplies.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Marie Triner — whose son, a Solomon Elementary School fourth-grader, has struggled to adjust since his father left with the Army for Afghanistan — wonders why class sizes aren't smaller.
On a scale of 1 to 10, poll participants gave an average 8.85 to a proposal to help schools by supplying more texts.
Nicole Turner, the mother of a toddler in 'Ewa Beach, hope that all classes are wired for computers by the time her son is ready for kindergarten.
Gov. Linda Lingle and Democrats in the Legislature have made education reform the state's most urgent public policy question and have described this year as a historic opportunity for change. However, a new Honolulu Advertiser Hawai'i Poll has found a sharp disconnect between the political debate and what people really believe would improve lagging schools.
The governor and lawmakers have concentrated on structural and financial changes to schools, proposing local school boards or empowered school councils and giving principals more control over school spending. But people interviewed for the poll were much more likely to value more basic solutions.
Asked to rate several possibilities, people gave the highest marks to textbooks for every student, smaller class sizes in the early grades, school repair and maintenance, and enough computers so every student can use one daily.
Sixty-three percent said they would be willing to pay more in taxes if they were confident the state would dedicate money for the things they favored. While strong, that number has declined since January 2003, when the Hawai'i Poll found that 77 percent would pay more in taxes to improve public education.
"They need to talk to the educators themselves," Diane Chong, a Web designer who has children in both public and private schools, said of politicians. "They're not hearing that side of the story. They need to find out what's going on."
People also suggested some innovative ideas. Maybe parents could receive report cards grading their own involvement in their children's education. The state, businesses and parents could work together so every student has a laptop computer of one's own. Maybe students should take an achievement test before moving on to the next grade.
The statewide survey of 605 Hawai'i residents was conducted March 24-27 by Ward Research Inc. of Honolulu. The margin of error is 4 percentage points, meaning that in a survey of all Hawai'i registered voters, the percentage of support for each proposal could be 4 points higher or lower.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Several people who participated in the poll and were interviewed separately afterward also said teachers should get a pay raise and have a greater role in school policy.
At Ala Wai Elementary School, Lori Kwee's second-graders — like many other pupils in the same building — leave their backpacks on a lanai so shelf space inside can be used for educational materials.
But the poll found that people were not enthusiastic about basing teacher and principal raises on the performance of their students. "They're saying that it's not fair to hold teachers and principals accountable if they don't have the tools they need," said Rebecca Ward, the president of Ward Research.
Steven Smith, a Navy electrician who lives in 'Ewa Beach, said society talks about the importance of education, yet many bus drivers make as much as or more than average teachers.
"They're out there on the battlefront," Smith said of teachers. "I know teachers who say they are constantly paying for things out of their own pockets."
Travis Berry, a telemarketer in Kane'ohe, left Castle High School before graduating and is now going back to school to get his diploma. While far from a model student as a teenager, he said some of his teachers left a strong impression.
"I had a few good teachers, and in those classes I did well," Berry said. "Maybe we should pay them more."
For many parents, all the attention on reform makes a difficult decision — where to send their children to school — even harder.
Heather Metcalf, who does administrative work for her family's construction company on the Big Island, is concerned about the mixed messages children receive from popular culture and how that might influence their education. She is torn over whether to keep a television in the house, let alone whether to choose public or private school or opt for home schooling.
"There is definitely a lot of improvements that need to be made everywhere, in both public and private schools," she said.
The Hawai'i Poll turned up some interesting patterns. People who lived here longer than a decade were more likely to rate repair and maintenance and more computers as priorities, probably because they are more familiar with the poor condition of many schools.
"I don't know why our schools are so short on supplies," said Graber, the retired accountant. "I'm always hearing about fund-raisers, and I'm surprised that they seem to be for basic things."
Patricia Sofos of Makiki, a sales manager, said she used to work for a company that supplied the state Department of Education, so she has seen some of the maintenance problems up close. She doesn't believe that the state is making wise use of the resources it has. "When I look at some of the older schools,
I just can't believe it — especially the restrooms," she said.
Turner, the 'Ewa Beach homemaker, said it should be a given that students have enough textbooks and, hopefully, access to computers. "The way society is going is so computer-generated, I think that's important," she said.
People ranked reducing class sizes second only to textbooks as a priority, and women were more likely than men to say it would significantly improve schools. Research has suggested that many students, particularly those from low-income families, do better in smaller classes in the early grades where they can get more individual attention from teachers.
Triner, whose home is at Schofield Barracks, said she is thankful that her son's teacher at Solomon has been so attentive since his father left for duty a few weeks ago. "He is having difficulty with some things," she said, "and his teacher has been really good at taking time with him."
She wishes politicians would talk more about class size — which would require spending more money on new teachers and classrooms — than school governance. "It's not as big an issue as far as children's learning (is concerned)," Triner said.
Both Lingle and Democrats in the Legislature believe that a new student spending formula basing school finance on student need, instead of enrollment, would bring more transparency and, eventually, more equity to school spending. Both sides also want to give principals much greater control over spending decisions, so money and other resources could go to a school's individual needs.
Democrats say new school councils — improved versions of existing school/community-based management councils — would have more control over school budgets and curriculum and could identify and respond to each school's unique circumstances.
Lingle believes that the DOE should be broken up into seven school districts with locally elected boards that would oversee school performance and hold schools accountable. The governor would also replace the state Board of Education with an appointed standards and accountability commission.
Chong, the Web designer, said politicians could help schools by reducing what she sees as too much "red tape" — and believes there could be a compromise between Lingle and the Democrats — but she has also heard the calls for education reform before without seeing much progress.
"Every time they say they're going to do something for education, when it comes right down to it, nothing ever gets done," she said.
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
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