The proposal by Gov. Lingle to decentralize the state school’s board and to set up island-based school boards will lead to great gaps in spending for students among island communities, key members of state House of Representatives warned Kaua’i residents
The proposal by Gov. Lingle to decentralize the state school’s board and to set up island-based school boards will lead to great gaps in spending for students among island communities, key members of state House of Representatives warned Kaua’i residents last night.
Many individual school boards in the Mainland derive their operating costs from property tax revenues, and Hawai’i would follow suit if local school boards are created in the state, they said.
A situation could arise where one school district in Hawai’i with more affluent taxpayers would be able to put out more funds for education than poorer communities, resulting in spending gaps for individual students between two school districts, they said.
Legislators made those comments during a meeting with residents at the cafeteria of King Kaumuali’i Elementary School cafeteria.
They gathered to hear citizens’ priorities for convening of the 2004 Legislature next month.
The key leaders attending the meeting included House Rep. Roy M. Takumi, who heads the House Education Committee; House Rep. Mark Takai, who chairs the Higher Education Committee and House Rep. Dwight Y. Takamine, who chairs the House Finance Committee.
Kaua’i state Reps. Ezra Kanoho, Bertha Kawakami and Hermina Morita also attended the meeting, and along with Kaua’i Sen. Gary Hooser, were commended by the legislators for representing Kaua’i residents well in the Legislature.
About 40 to 50 people attended the meeting.
Takai said a local school board on Kauai isn’t likely to work because “most of the funding comes from our tax base, which is on O’ahu.”
“If we break up the school district, within a decade, I am convinced, we will have taxing authority given to those school districts,” Takai said. “And take a look at once again Kaua’i’s tax base for your school system. I don’t think it is going to work for you guys, from that perspective.”
Takumi said a vast majority of school boards in the mainland derive operating funds from property tax revenues.
And affluent communities will be better able to fund their school districts than less affluent communities, as is the case in some Mainland communities, Takumi said.
The same situation could happen in Hawai’i if local school boards are established, he said. This will lead to a grave imbalance in the quality of education for students between two school districts, for instance, he said.
Takumi said he asked the Lingle administration for “empirical evidence” to show that local school boards with elected members would lead to better student performance. That was ten months ago, and he hasn’t gotten an answer yet, Takumi said.
“I have not foreclosed the possibility of elected school boards. I just need to hear from those who are proposing it, how exactly it would work to lead to better student performance,” Takumi said.
Takai said that “Kaua’i, as a county, needs to really understand any details regarding the breaking up of a school district.” A detailed process has to be set up and followed should that happen, he said.
Takumi outlined alternatives to the creation of local school boards he believes could lead to better student performance:
- Leadership, as shown by UH Warriors football coach June Junes, who transformed a losing team into a winning team in one year with essentially the same team members.
- Qualified teachers who have a passion for their work.
- Curriculum that “has to be integrated in sequence,” Takumi said.
- Community involvement.
- Health and safety of students.
TGI Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 225 or mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
