It may seem hard to believe, but a high-powered vehicle for public school reform is here and ready to move.  It’s been waiting to go out cruising after being tucked away in the garage since 1995, for the most part.  Now more than ever, it is time to go for a ride.

Back in 1995, two young rookie Hawaii state legislators, Mike McCarthy and David Ige, introduced and helped pass into law the most sweeping reform in the history of Hawaii public education.  This was quite an accomplishment for these two new kids on the block working among the capitol’s established power structure.  It was called the “Student Centered Schools” law.

For many, it went unnoticed. Few people understood its potential power to enabled community control of schools.  Even today with the call by the new Education Institute of Hawaii for greater school level control, few people understand that the DOE system can be radically reformed today, and this has been possible for almost 20 years.

Kindergarten students at Ala Wai Elementary School.

PF Bentley/Civil Beat

The “Student Centered School” law morphed at times into other strange names like “New Century School.”  The name means little, but these public schools’ independence from the DOE’s control and top-down decision making is of utmost importance.  They should simply be called “Community Governed Schools,” or “Local Community Controlled Schools.”

The law basically allows schools to govern themselves and be in control of their own decisions, free of the mandates and requirements of the Hawaii DOE, with a few small exceptions.  The complex area superintendent, the state superintendent, and the assistant superintendents, cannot tell these schools what to do. The community hires and monitors the performance of the school administrator, not the complex area superintendent.  The most current version of this law can be found section 302D of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Since the passing of this reform model, the DOE together with the Board of Education acted as any typical large bureaucracy would do, and took self-protecting steps to poison the water for anything that could potentially loosen their power grip over the public schools.  Many public school employees have fallen victim to the DOE’s power holding tactics, and seem to believe they are powerless to get these policies and guidelines changed.  This is largely why almost 20 years have passed and the vehicle for reform is still waiting to be driven down the highway.

If all 255 DOE schools were to become self-governing public schools under HRS section 302D, then the DOE as we know it would no longer exist.  Instead, it would become a small scaled down department with selected responsibilities, such as overseeing content area standards and standardized testing, as well as securing federal funds for the schools.

No need for high paying complex area superintendent positions, their support teams, assistant superintendents, their staff, and near CEO-level salaried state superintendent.  DOE offices would be downsized beyond what we can ever imagine, and some will be closed.  Everything would change.  The monetary savings would be tremendous.  Funds once used by the DOE for administration could be reallocated back to the schools, and it is certain there would be an overall net reduction that could be used by the legislature for other departments, projects, returned to taxpayers, or used to lower state taxes in the future.  There would be a boom to business providing support service to these community based schools, which would create jobs statewide, and in turn provide higher tax revenue for the state.  Former DOE employees in administrative and centralized office position could apply to work in, or be transferred to, the many new jobs created at the school level and retain their state benefits and pension.

How do we get this reform vehicle out onto the roadway?  First, we’ll have to look to the legislature as leaders in this reform.  The DOE upper administration can be expected to oppose this change.  This has nothing to do with them personally, as anyone in their position would need to be loyal to the structure to which they belong.  The needs of our children and youth come before the needs of anyone else.

Second, we need a campaign informing the public about the benefits of moving all 255 schools to become community governing.

Third, the legislature needs to identify a specific year in the future when it will be realistic for all 255 schools to become community controlled.  Incentives can be provided for each school to learn about community governance and create their own plan with a timeline on how they will bring this change about.  Some may still remember back in the 1990s that there was a monetary incentive for all schools to convert to an older system of self governance called “School Community Based Management.”

Fourth, provide technical support to help schools create a detailed plan on how they will govern themselves and operate when they become self-governing.

Fifth, amend or repeal current DOE policies and guidelines in place that make the community controlled model undesirable for school employees, such as retaining tenure, seniority, staff reduction procedures, funding sabbatical leaves, and transfer rights between schools. Involve school employees and their respective unions in the process of making these changes.

Lastly, be ready for a wave of educational personnel from other states and countries to come to Hawaii to learn about this reform effort.  There are eight school districts in the U.S. that are larger than the Hawaii DOE, and the work to bring about change in Hawaii will be particularly helpful to these large school districts.

In the last presidential campaign, you may remember how the Massachusetts’ health care law was often referred to as a model for other states.  In taking the vehicle for educational change out of the garage, this Hawaii-based education reform will serve as a model that will surely be heard in national news in the future.