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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, October 12, 2005

OHA to give $2.2 million to 14 Hawaiian charter schools

Advertiser Staff

The board of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has approved $2.2 million in funding for Hawaiian charter schools and an additional $685,000 for other community organizations.

The money given to the 14 charter schools is the largest single-funding award bestowed by OHA and will be disbursed based on the size and proportion of Native Hawaiian students at each school.

The 14 schools represent about half of the state's charter school system. Four are Hawaiian immersion programs, while another two offer bilingual instruction in Hawaiian and English. They provide schooling for nearly 1,700 students, roughly 93 percent of them of Hawaiian ancestry.

In approving the funding last week, OHA trustees said lawmakers have not provided adequate funding for the charter schools, forcing many to cut their programs and endangering their long-term existence.

Additionally, the board granted $50,000 for roof repairs at Ke Kula Ni'ihau o Kekaha, a Hawaiian-language immersion school on Kaua'i that serves children of Ni'ihau families.

The board also approved $685,000 in grants to 11 community groups that serve a variety of needs, including an Alzheimer's outreach project, a service program for homeless veterans and a reintegration project for female prisoners.