Only about one-third of military parents say they are satisfied overall with the public school system in Hawai'i, and most say improvement is needed in facilities and textbooks, according to results of an annual survey.

However, more than 75 percent of military families in Hawai'i tend to have a positive view of public schools in areas of teacher caring, safety and quality teachers, according to the survey, conducted by researchers from the University of Hawai'i.

Military families tend to have mixed feelings about school facilities, curriculum, bullying, technology and academics, the report said.

This is the seventh year that the "customer satisfaction" survey has been conducted by the state Department of Education and the Joint Venture Education Forum, a partnership between the military and Hawai'i public schools.

The JVEF receives $5 million a year in federal money to use for repair and maintenance, playgrounds, textbooks, technology and school partnerships, and in the past year it has helped more than 25 schools.

"One of the biggest things is in the area of facilities," said Col. Karla Moyer, who serves as liaison between the military and the Department of Education. "Technology is also something that (Joint Venture Education Forum) has been working on."

Unlike in previous years, this year's survey used a random sample of military parents whose responses were representative of the whole population of military parents in Hawai'i.

In previous years, the survey was conducted by mail, and it was criticized by some who said only those with criticisms would respond.

Most military parents surveyed this year said they believed their children had adequate access to computers and technology. That's an area where JVEF has been working hard over the past few years to improve, Moyer said.

However, when asked about appropriate textbooks and teaching materials, parents were not as favorable. About 68 percent of elementary parents responded favorably. About 60 percent and 58 percent of middle school and high school parents, respectively, said their child had access to appropriate teaching materials.

Moyer said JVEF will be spending more than $2 million next year to get computers and better textbooks for schools with high military populations.

The survey found that only 22 percent of elementary school parents had a positive view of Hawai'i's public schools before moving here. Likewise, only 17 percent of middle school parents and 21 percent of high school parents say they had a positive perception of Hawai'i's schools.

"I think educating military families before they come to Hawai'i is one of our No. 1 challenges," said Cherise Imai, the military liaison for the state Department of Education.

"We still need to address the negative perceptions and the misconceptions about our schools," she said.

George Okino, principal of Hickam Elementary School, said while some of the survey results echo what he hears from parents, he said he believes the majority of military parents tend to have a positive view of his school.

Almost all of the 735 students who attend Hickam Elementary are from military families. He said one of the challenges his school has is helping military families transition.

"When parents come in, they have their own perceptions. We take time to make them feel welcome, show them around. We're not only educating them about the school but about Hawai'i, too," he said.

Hickam, like more than a dozen other schools with high military populations, employs a military transition coordinator to help families become acclimated to the new school and community.

JVEF gives about $500,000 a year to schools to help military families transition to the new school and to Hawai'i, Imai said.

About 14,500 military dependents attend public schools in Hawai'i, or about 8 percent of total enrollment. The surveyed schools enroll 11,100 of those students. The project collected about 1,806 completed questionnaires from parents at 39 schools that have enrollment with 100 or more military dependents.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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