GOVERNOR LINGLE AND CONCERNED CITIZENS INITIATE ALL OUT, NO-HOLDS-BARRED EDUCATION REFORM
For Immediate Release: October 2, 2003
HONOLULU – Expressing excitement, hope and optimism, Governor Linda Lingle convened an inaugural citizens advisory committee to assist her administration in moving forward on true education reform in Hawai`i.
A diverse mix of more than 20 concerned citizens from across the state have volunteered to serve on the Governor’s Citizens to Achieve Reform in Education (CARE) committee to work on education reform. The heart of CARE’s efforts will focus on decentralizing Hawai`i’s top-heavy education system in order to give key decision-making authority to the school level, direct more money into the classrooms, and promote community involvement.
“We can’t keep waiting around hoping that public education in Hawai`i will get better, because it’s not going to just happen by itself,” Governor Lingle told the committee members, who met for the first time on Wednesday. “Our CARE committee is a historic opportunity to work together on issues that will truly change education for our children. I consider this to be the most important group I have convened because it will result in life-time achievement for Hawai`i’s students and our entire community.”
CARE will work toward refining issues relating to decentralizing Hawai`i’s education system to give more authority and subsequently more accountability to school principals and teachers. Part of the effort will include giving the people of Hawai`i the opportunity to decide on whether to have local school boards that can better meet the specific education needs of different communities.
“We’re running a campaign, a campaign for kids,” said the Governor, as she described her vision for achieving reform in education. “We’re creating a grassroots movement to first inform and educate the public about why the current system doesn’t work, and what the people can do to gain control of their schools so that their children can excel. It simply is not acceptable that our state ranks at or near the bottom of numerous education rankings.”
In the next few months, the CARE committee will hold community meetings to talk with concerned citizens around the state about their priorities and recommendations for public education reform. The information gathered will be used to help formulate legislation that will ultimately let the people of Hawai`i decide the issue of local school boards, to replace the centralized system that has produced dismal results for many years.
“Our plan is to take our collective ideas and messages out to the people to show them how their children can benefit from a decentralized school system,” said Stan Kawaguchi, who will chair the CARE committee. “Some people will always resist change because they fear the unknown. That’s why it’s important to launch a public information campaign to show people that local decision-making can result in more effective management of our schools, more autonomy and flexibility for teachers and principals, as well as more money going directly to the classrooms rather than an administrative office.”
While the CARE committee plans to reach out to parents directly, members also hope to gain the support of teachers and principals, some of whom are represented on the committee.
“Teachers are just as frustrated as everyone else,” said Melanie Hanohano, a teacher at Kailua Elementary School and a member of CARE. “Central control obviously isn’t working. We see that better than anyone.”
Supporting the committee’s ideas toward decentralization was University of California at Los Angeles professor Bill Ouchi, who is in Honolulu to meet with local education officials, legislators, and business groups. Ouchi, a former Hawai`i resident who is serving as an unpaid education consultant to the CARE committee, told members about his research which shows that school education performance is directly affected by how education systems are structured. The key is to empower each school community, especially the principal, and build in a system of accountability in terms of each school’s budget performance, student performance, and customer satisfaction.
"No two gatherings of students are the same, which is why each school principal should be treated as an entrepreneur with decision-making authority and responsibilities," said Ouchi. "School districts around the country perform the best when principals control school budgets and are accountable for student achievement."
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For more information, contact:
Lenny KlompusRussell Pang
Senior Advisor – Communications Chief of Media Relations
Phone: (808) 586-7705 Phone: (808) 586-0043
CITIZENS ACHIEVING REFORM IN EDUCATION (CARE)
·Marc Benioff, CEO, Salesforce.com
·Lt. General Robert Dierker, Chief of Staff, US Pacific Command
·Eddie Flores Jr., President, L&L Drive-Inn
·Mel Hanohano, Teacher, Kailua Elementary
·David Heenan, Trustee, Estate of James Campbell
·Tareq Hoque, founder, Landmark Enterprises
·Stan Kawaguchi, Manager of Pacific Area, Parsons Brickerhoff (CARE Chair)
·Georgina Kawamura, Director, Department of Budget and Finance
·Maryanne W. Kusaka, Former Mayor of Kaua`i
·Rod McPhee, Former Superintendent of Glencoe School District; Former President, Punahou School
·April Nakamura, Teacher, McKinley High School
·Michael O’Neill, CEO, Bank of Hawaii
·Diana Oshiro, Charter School Principal and former senior administrator, Department of Education
·Mary Anne Raywid, Education Professor, University of Hawaii
·Madge Schaefer, Maui community activist
·Roger Takabayashi, President, Hawaii State Teachers Union
·Laura Thielen, Member, State Board of Education
·Rose Tseng, Chancellor, University of Hawaii-Hilo
·Lynn Watanabe, Member, P20 Council; co-founder of America’s Promise Hawaii
·Dr. Sue Wesselkamper, President, Chaminade University
·Gene Zarro, Board member, Kihei Charter School
·Jon Znamierowski, Principal, Waimea Middle School
·Nancy Cullen, counselor, Aikahi Elementary School, and officer in the PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association)
·Kekoa Ho, president, Waimanalo Neighborhood Board
·Kelly King, former member, Board of Education
·Bill Ouchi, PhD, Professor in Corporate Renewal, Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA (unpaid consultant)
