ANAHOLA — Change is in the air at Kanuikapono Public Charter School as the Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission hits the reset button on the school’s governing board.
Anyone interested in being part of the new governing board at Kanuikapono Public Charter School has until Aug. 2 to apply.
That’s after a July 19 Commission decision to reconstitute the governing board because it was “improperly constituted and out of compliance with state law.”
“This year will be a transitional year for Kanuikapono, with a lot of tough decisions for the transitional board,” said Kainoa Wojak, parent and former school health aide at Kanuikapono.
She’s been following the dialogue between the Charter Commission and the Governing Board, with started with a May 15 Commission notice of concern (NOC) stating concerns the board was out of compliance with state law.
According to July 6 documents sent from the commission to Gov. David Ige, the commission’s concerns included a line of credit opened without Attorney General approval, school policies that are out of line with the PCS contract, and a governing board that doesn’t fit the criteria.
Some board members have been contractors or vendors for the school within the last year, according to the Commission, and that violates bylaws.
The documents outline concerns stemming from an April 18 joint meeting between Kanuikapono PCS governing board and Kanu I Ka Pono Learning Center (Kanu INC), which “provides fee-based services to Kanuikapono School.”
The board responded, stating they disagreed with compliance breeches, but failed to state why and also failed to submit a satisfactory action plan to the Commission, according to a July 20 release from the Commission.
The issue also came up at the Commission’s July 12 meeting, when the Commission again asked the Kanuikapono Governing Board to “address concerns over the constitution and composition of its new purported board.”
The Commission gave the board another week to address their concerns and at the July 19 meeting, the Commission found the board didn’t address the matter adequately and voted to reconstitute the board.
At the center of the ongoing action, according to Kathryn Smith, the school’s interim director and charter school program director, is the question: is the school operating correctly?
“What does it really take to run a community based Hawaiian charter school,” Smith asked.
She continued: “Kanuikapono Administration remains focused on holding the interests of our students and community at the highest level. This is what it takes to run a community based Hawaiian focused charter school.”
The July 19 meeting wiped the governing board clean and now the Commission is accepting applications for the new Transitional Board, which will be made up of at least three members.
One of those members will come from the governing board that was just disbanded and two new members chosen by the Commission.
“The transitional board will start addressing the notice of complaint and do the work of making sure the school is in compliance, fiscally managed, and educationally viable until they can get a permanent board in place,” Wojak said.
That transitional board will be chosen by the Commission Aug. 9. Anyone can apply to be on the transitional board as long as they fit the requirements and haven’t been a vendor or contractor with the school for the past year.
To apply, go to: https://bit.ly/2NHPZVm
