A total of 345 bills were sent from the Hawai‘i state legislature to Governor Neil Abercrombie. Of those, 331 became law. Of the 345 bills, 323 were signed by Gov. Abercrombie, eight became law without his signature, and 14 were
A total of 345 bills were sent from the Hawai‘i state legislature to Governor Neil Abercrombie. Of those, 331 became law. Of the 345 bills, 323 were signed by Gov. Abercrombie, eight became law without his signature, and 14 were vetoed.
With the final step in the legislative and governor’s actions complete, there are another 329 more laws to know and perhaps, remember.
For the business community, one of our collective efforts was keeping the Unemployment Insurance Law at its current schedule, thus saving businesses at least $400 to $500 per employee. Go do the math.
The final budget figures for the fiscal year just ended with about $300 million in surplus. Message to the governor: Stay focused and strategic on the existing and crafted budget plan just signed into law. Put money back into the Hurricane Fund (the money that was borrowed!), and, save the rest for a rainy day. The temptation to restore funding for programs should be strategic and encourage a pro-business perspective.
Public Education
The recent results of the Hawai‘i state Department of Education (DOE) annual reading and math scores touted a rise in all grades.
For the three Kaua‘i area complexes (Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i and Waimea), it was welcome news. However, as noted in the above section regarding the budget and unexpected $300M surplus in the fiscal year just ended, ALL of us must stay focused and involved in achieving academic success.
To that end, the Academic Yearly Progress (AYP) Results and Corresponding School Year 2012-13 Accountability Status by Complex report released on July 17 indicated that of 16 Kaua‘i schools (elementary, middle and high school), the status and numbers are as follows: In Good Standing, Unconditional (2), In Good Standing, Pending (1), School Improvement Year 2 (1) and Year 1 (2), Corrective Action Year 1 (4), and, Restructuring (4).
From a business standpoint, the question is – what is our return on investment?
Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi, architect of the $75 million Race to the Top grant awarded to Hawai‘i by the U.S. DOE, said, “Our plan to create systemic change is working. Increasingly, more students in more schools across the state are on the path toward college and career readiness.”
Matayoshi said, “Today we stop to celebrate our students’ impressive achievement, but our work to ensure all children succeed only accelerates.”
The implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, which basically tied educational success with federal dollars, initiated cross-country policies/programs whereby schools needed to meet federal benchmarks on an annual basis or otherwise were placed in the various categories listed above, with consequences including leadership, faculty and budget impacts.
While Kaua‘i’s success rate shows some improvement, the point here is we must as a community stay involved, but, strategically. The start of the school year beginning August gives each of us an opportunity to become involved. The recent success and response by the community in the Kaua‘i Magazine efforts to provide children school supplies was a good start.
It does not end there. Business members in their local communities can continue to support their local area schools.
Many already are by volunteering their time and talents, as well as on-going support throughout the year. Let’s not only turn out for the local Friday and Saturday sports events only. Let’s all step up and get involved. To those who already have, thank you.
From the Chamber’s view, we’ll be reviewing P-20 initiatives (pre-school to college) and, with the upcoming legislative session, have a voice in education.
To learn more about the tests results, visit arch.k12.hi.us.
• Randy Francisco is the president of the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at info@kauaichamber.org.
