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    No Grades Means No Accountability for Department of Education Teachers, Principals, Board of Education

    Hawaii Reporter
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    Such minions who populate our state Department of Education as the report-card coordinator and the director of planning and evaluation deserve kudo’s for attempting to economize in these difficult times.

    Two Card Monty is evidently thought cheaper and faster than the three card variety and without any loss of effectiveness in terms of conning the mark.

    The move away from traditional grades as reported by Advertiser Staff Writer Eloise Aguiar on Tuesday, April 29 continues a process described by the legendary James Boren, the gifted labor organizer who founded of the Professional Bureaucrats Union (PROBU) a quarter century ago. He coined the term “orbital fuzzification” to describe how the prudent bureaucrat deftly dances away from accountability for actual results.

    The tempo of the public education dance here in Hawaii dramatically picked up some years ago with what might be called “the LeMahieu Two-step.” Fancy talk about standards and accountability [step one] was the fig leaf used to cover the same old vague humma humma [step two] expensively re-issued as 10 cute booklets called Hawaii Content and Performance Standards (“Hiccups” in teacher-speak). Forget that the “contents” remain unquantifiable mush and that performance of neither student nor teacher can be objectively measured. The dance is all.

    After the two step came The Waltz of the Sugar Plum Publications, all expensively produced on fine glossy paper, all putatively having to do with “standards.” The muse Terpsichor smiles as dancers swirl toward — but never actually reach — “Standards Implementation.”

    This is a movement in which teachers are encouraged to post all manner of good intentions on their classroom walls in the pretense this has anything to do with what is actually being taught or learned. The orbital fuzzification dance troop never closes in on the implementation objective for good reason: What does not exist cannot be implemented.

    In response to a discordant blast recently sounded by the feds — No Child Left Behind regs that for the first time in forty years threatens to link future funding streams to actual, measurable performance — the DOE has now scored the first draft of an exciting new phase of the dance: The Grade Free Tango. Like tennis without a net, all will now be invited to play. No longer will talent, dedication, hard work and actual results be the obstacles they once was to achieving the long sought Lake Woebegone Paradigm (i.e., all children above average).

    Reporter Aguiar notes seven “grading” criteria for 6th grade math by way of example: “uses and justifies strategies to compute with whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percents”; “defines and applies geometric concepts and relationships … designs surveys, analyzes data, and draws conclusions based on the mean, median, mode and range and describes limitations of the representations.” No longer will those pesky but familiar A, B, C, D and F grades be used to describe student proficiency in actual math skills.

    Instead of actually being called upon to perform those horrid computations, students will instead be encouraged to join the dance by using and justifying strategies, designing surveys, drawing conclusions, and so forth.

    This is a golden moment in accountability avoidance that would warm the cockles of any orbital fuzzificator’s heart: the low fat/no sweat version of letter grades: E, M, N, U and NA (aka Grade Lite). Once this zenith of streamlined dance perfection is achieved our DOE can confidently report ALL our schools are meeting their annual yearly progress targets, thus preserving federal funding streams.

    This of course leads one to suspect a super efficient game of One Card Monty will soon be “rolled out” by the DOE in which everyone will get exactly the same grade. Anticipating that milestone in the charade masquerading as public education, I have a suggestion. That grade should be NA — not accountable.

    ”’Thomas E. Stuart is a public school teacher at Kapaau, Hawaii. He can be reached via email at”’ mailto:Thom1s@aol.com

    Special Education Reform Plan Makes Valuable Improvements

    Hawaii Reporter
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    Policymakers seeking to improve special education in the United States face a system that is:

    *Vast – nearly one in eight U.S. schoolchildren is currently considered disabled;

    *Complex — federal laws and regulations governing special education are among the most complicated and bureaucratic of any in the federal code;

    *Expensive — one study estimated that over $77 billion is spent annually to provide education for students with disabilities, and

    *Growing — by more than one-third over the past decade.

    Being the parent of a disabled child is not easy, under this system or any other. Being a child stuck in special education when you are not actually disabled is difficult also, especially under the current system.

    U.S. House Education Reform Subcommittee Chairman Michael Castle has emphasized that “current methods of identifying children with disabilities lack validity or reliability.”

    This has resulted in widespread misidentification and mislabeling, especially of minority students. The plan he and his colleagues have produced will improve the current system by making a number of meaningful improvements. These include:

    Emphasizing early intervention strategies aimed at correcting reading deficiencies before children are identified as disabled. School districts will be granted flexibility to use up to 15 percent of their federal IDEA funds for such pre-referral services.

    Strengthening parents’ control over decisions regarding their children’s education, by allowing them to bypass process-heavy regulations pertaining to children’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

    Ending reliance on controversial “IQ discrepancy” models for identifying children with disabilities.

    Protecting children and their parents from being coerced into administering behavior-altering medication in order to attend school. These include powerful stimulants like Ritalin, classified under Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act.

    Reducing heavy paperwork demands currently placed on special education teachers.

    Easing federal regulations dictating how school officials are permitted to discipline special education students. The new rules would allow uniform discipline for all children, helping to ensure school safety by allowing school officials to suspend special education students when they feel it is necessary.

    ”’For more information, please contact the Lexington Institute at 703-522-5828 or email Don Soifer at:”’ mailto:soifer@lexingtoninstitute.org

    Four Questions Reporters Should Ask about the American Lung Association's 'State of the Air' Report

    Hawaii Reporter
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    ”’Today (May 1) the American Lung Association (ALA) will release its annual “State of the Air” report on air pollution levels in American cities. Like previous “State of the Air” reports, it is alarmist, claiming that “nearly half of the US population” lives in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution. Reason Senior Fellow Joel Schwartz and the Pacific Research Institute’s Steve Hayward, however, provide powerful evidence to debunk the ALA report. For example, they note in their report that “the ALA gave San Diego an ‘F’ for air quality, claiming that San Diego experienced 16 exceedences per year of the EPA ozone standard. In fact, only a single rural location, Alpine, exceeded the 8-hour ozone standard more than 2 times per year. 99.7 percent of people in San Diego County breathe air that meets both the EPA 8-hour and 1-hour ozone standards.” For the full analysis, see below or log onto:”’ https://www.rppi.org/fourquestions.html

    Before taking this year’s American Lung Association report at face value, reporters should ask the ALA report’s authors a few questions to clarify the report’s biases.

    *1. Is air quality in California, and the U.S. as a whole, better or worse than it was 10 years ago? Five years ago?

    Discussion: Air pollution has been declining for decades. While southern California’s air pollution remains the highest in the nation, southern California has made more progress than any other region. Figure 1 displays the improving trend in exceedences of the 1-hour ozone standard. National compliance with the 1-hour ozone standard went from about 50 percent in the early 1980s to 87 percent today.

    About 40 percent of U.S. monitoring locations still exceed EPA’s stringent new 8-hour ozone standard, but 8-hour ozone levels have been dropping as well. Virtually the entire nation (>99 percent) now meets all federal health standards for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. More than 96 percent of the nation complies with PM10 standards (particulate matter under 10 micrometers in diameter), and the compliance rate is about 70 percent for EPA’s stringent new annual PM2.5 standard. PM2.5 declined 33 percent between 1980 and 2000, with the most polluted areas once again achieving the greatest reductions (see Figure 2 for PM trends).

    These declining trends will continue in the coming decade (see discussion of question 4 below).

    *2. Is every single person in each city or county with an “F” grade exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution?

    [If the ALA spokesperson says “Yes” to this question, it will mean they do not know what they are talking about and reporters can stop taking notes. See discussion below.]

    Follow up question: For each county, “State of the Air” lists the number of days per year exceeding the 8-hour ozone standard. How many individual monitoring locations in a given county exceeded the ozone standard that many times per year? [The correct answer is zero for almost all counties with more than one ozone monitoring site (see Figure 6 below).]

    Discussion: ALA

    Four Questions Reporters Should Ask about the American Lung Association’s ‘State of the Air’ Report

    Hawaii Reporter
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    0

    ”’Today (May 1) the American Lung Association (ALA) will release its annual “State of the Air” report on air pollution levels in American cities. Like previous “State of the Air” reports, it is alarmist, claiming that “nearly half of the US population” lives in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution. Reason Senior Fellow Joel Schwartz and the Pacific Research Institute’s Steve Hayward, however, provide powerful evidence to debunk the ALA report. For example, they note in their report that “the ALA gave San Diego an ‘F’ for air quality, claiming that San Diego experienced 16 exceedences per year of the EPA ozone standard. In fact, only a single rural location, Alpine, exceeded the 8-hour ozone standard more than 2 times per year. 99.7 percent of people in San Diego County breathe air that meets both the EPA 8-hour and 1-hour ozone standards.” For the full analysis, see below or log onto:”’ https://www.rppi.org/fourquestions.html

    Before taking this year’s American Lung Association report at face value, reporters should ask the ALA report’s authors a few questions to clarify the report’s biases.

    *1. Is air quality in California, and the U.S. as a whole, better or worse than it was 10 years ago? Five years ago?

    Discussion: Air pollution has been declining for decades. While southern California’s air pollution remains the highest in the nation, southern California has made more progress than any other region. Figure 1 displays the improving trend in exceedences of the 1-hour ozone standard. National compliance with the 1-hour ozone standard went from about 50 percent in the early 1980s to 87 percent today.

    About 40 percent of U.S. monitoring locations still exceed EPA’s stringent new 8-hour ozone standard, but 8-hour ozone levels have been dropping as well. Virtually the entire nation (>99 percent) now meets all federal health standards for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. More than 96 percent of the nation complies with PM10 standards (particulate matter under 10 micrometers in diameter), and the compliance rate is about 70 percent for EPA’s stringent new annual PM2.5 standard. PM2.5 declined 33 percent between 1980 and 2000, with the most polluted areas once again achieving the greatest reductions (see Figure 2 for PM trends).

    These declining trends will continue in the coming decade (see discussion of question 4 below).

    *2. Is every single person in each city or county with an “F” grade exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution?

    [If the ALA spokesperson says “Yes” to this question, it will mean they do not know what they are talking about and reporters can stop taking notes. See discussion below.]

    Follow up question: For each county, “State of the Air” lists the number of days per year exceeding the 8-hour ozone standard. How many individual monitoring locations in a given county exceeded the ozone standard that many times per year? [The correct answer is zero for almost all counties with more than one ozone monitoring site (see Figure 6 below).]

    Discussion: ALA

    Is the United Nations Relevant?

    Hawaii Reporter
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    On June 26, 1945, 50 nations signed a charter in San Francisco creating the United Nations. The goal of this new body was to ensure peace in a deeply divided world. At that time, the Second World War was coming to an end. Opposing political ideologies were put aside in the effort to defeat the Nazi’s and Imperial Japanese efforts to expand their respective territories and impose their political will, at the cost of millions of lives. A vision that allowed all countries, regardless of size and power, would have a forum in this new entity. Idealism ran high, as can be expected from a world ravaged by war for the better part of the previous five decades.

    There were still many particulars to be ironed out, and there was much debate on the true future role of the United Nations. But the charter was finally agreed upon, and the framework laid. On the 24th of October, the charter officially went into effect, and the United Nations was officially born. (The United Nations, The Founding of the UN 1-2.)

    Fast forward to March 2003, and it would seem that the idealism of
    the creators of the United Nations seems to be as much a part of history as the war in which it was born. There are many mixed opinions on the role of the U.N. There are those who see it as the future hope of mankind, perhaps hoping that it will fulfill the role it was intended, and maybe more in the form of a world government. There are also those who believe it is a failed idea, and should go the way of its predecessor, the post World War One League of Nations. And as with all political issues, there are quite a few in the middle, believing that the U.N. should play various limited roles in
    some areas, and major roles in others.

    The United Nations as an organization is broken down into several
    bodies; the most commonly recognized is the Security Council and the General Assembly. In addition to these two bodies are the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.

    Under these bodies are the various commissions and councils specializing in numerous areas and issues. (The United Nations System 1) The only body with the ability to enforce it’s resolutions through military force is the Security Council, whose members are made up of core countries representative of the post World War Two major powers, who each have the authority to veto actions taken by the council.

    Other nations are allowed on the council on a rotating basis, without veto power. The General Assembly is akin to a debating society, with the power to make various resolutions based on the consensus of the group. These resolutions are relatively benign, because the resolutions are only that, resolutions.

    If a nation or nations wishes to heed them as law, or decides it’s not in their interest to do so, it’s completely up to them.

    The many other bodies perform specific functions, and memberships depend on the size, scope, and purpose of that organization. Like the General Assembly, resolutions and proclamations made by these many groups are dependent on the cooperation of those involved.

    To judge the U.N., one must look at its track record over its 58 years of existence. What has it accomplished? Where has it failed? Does it exist today to achieve the same goals in which it was founded? What, through its member nations, does it represent, and is that a fair representation of the majority of people on this planet?

    These are but a few questions one should ask when judging the U.N. The bottom line for me though, based on current events, is: is the United Nations really relevant in today’s world?

    Judging by the massacres in Rwanda and the Congo(Anderson 1-3 “Who
    Polices…”; Anderson “Leaders Lean…”1-3), the growth of worldwide
    Islamist terrorism, continued repression of much of the world’s population by dictatorial, totalitarian, and communist regimes, rampant racism in Zimbabwe and South Africa, slavery in Sudan, the state of affairs of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the current failure of diplomacy over Iraq, it seems to me that the U.N. is a hollow shell.

    So what does the United Nations do right?

    According to the U.N. Web site, there are 50 “major achievements
    of the United Nations.”(Major UN Achievements 1-6) It is a list of vaguely worded statements which would lead one to believe that the U.N. alone is maintaining the planet in a state of perpetual peace, with all those touched by the U.N. leading productive, comfortable lives.

    “Often without attracting attention, the United Nations and its family of agencies are engaged in a vast array of work that touches every aspect of people lives around the world,” (Major UN Achievements 1) is the bold statement made by its own webpage.

    But let’s take a critical look at some of the “major achievements” to see who, what, and how things were achieved.

    “Maintaining peace and security …” (Major UN Achievements 1)
    According to the Federation of American Scientists, there are 34 conflicts of varying levels of intensity going on around the world at this time. (Current Conflicts 1.) This number is fluid, and changes almost daily.

    According to the U.N. achievements statement, “there are presently 15 active peace-keeping forces in operation.” (Major UN Achievements 1.) Unless my math is way, way off, that would indicate that there are 19 conflicts which do not have any physical U.N. peace-keeping force on the ground.

    I must ask, for a body which represents almost all nations of the world, why is there any conflict at all? It seems that the United Nations is not “working as advertised.” (Graphic: Federation of American Scientists, “The World at War.”)

    “Promoting Democracy,” (Major UN Achievements 1) is another noble sounding achievement to which the United Nations takes credit.

    According to Freedom House, a group started by Eleanor Roosevelt and others to promote and track freedom around the world, in 2002 only 40.79 percent of the world’s population lives in free society. (Map of Freedom 2002 2) Again, this does not sound like the record of success expounded on the list of achievements. And since the majority of nations are not free societies, but have an equal status in the General Assembly and other U.N. bodies with those who are, one could logically conclude that “freedom,” and thus free people, have a minority status in the United Nations.

    One must wonder, if the majority of representatives in the United Nations are not from “free countries” (i.e.: democratic), then how can one expect them to work in the best interest of “Promoting Democracy” in the first place? And more importantly, one must realize that the U.N. representatives (including the United States’) are not elected.

    If not elected, then to whom are they answerable? If their parent governments are not democracies in the first place, then draw your own conclusions … (Soderberg 1-2) (Graphic: Freedom House, “Map of Freedom 2002.”)

    Along with the state of freedom and conflict in the world, the United
    Nations also makes several other related claims which one must assume goes hand-in-hand with those two issues. “Promoting development,” “Promoting human rights,” “Protecting the environment,” and “Strengthening international law,” (Major UN Achievements 1-3) along with many other similar claims, seems hollow based on the current state of the world.

    And with Libya, a country renown for being a totalitarian police state, now heading the Commission on Human Rights and Iraq leading the Council on Disarmament (Krauthammer 1), one could almost find the United Nations laughable.

    The United Nations has held several conferences specifically concerning environmental policy. Conferences and commissions labeled with names such as “Commission on Sustainable Development,” “Environment and Development” and others have met in various locations to create proposals and resolutions on how countries can or should regulate environmental law.

    Items familiar to many of us such as the Kyoto Protocol and Agenda 21 have been either the result or primary issue of discussion at many of these meetings. (Lamb 1-2.) But what have any of these well meaning conferences accomplished?

    Unfortunately, a look at the meetings would show them run primarily by environmental groups with what could be considered “radical” political agendas.

    A common theme is that environmental issues can only be addressed and properly attended to by a collectivist world government, through clearly socialist redistribution of wealth among all nations. (Lamb 1-2.) This would alleviate “Third World Nations” from destroying their “pristine” environments with the goal of pumping money and jobs into their economies, and would limit the “First World Nations” use of precious world resources for there own “selfish” use. The logic behind this is that independent, sovereign nation-states do not have the will or resources to do what is right for the world as a whole.

    A re-examination of the above paragraph on “promoting democracy” should give one an uneasy feeling about the ultimate goals being forwarded under the banner of “protecting the environment.”

    “Providing Humanitarian Aid …” and other claims regarding helping refugees and providing for “children” litter the listed achievements of the U.N.

    In this regard, the distribution of food and other necessities to some of the worlds poor or famished is accomplished. Through the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and countless other have provided aid to those in need around the world. (Major UN Achievements 1.)

    This is primarily a function of redistribution, and it does seem to be something the United Nations does well. But, when it comes to taking action to remove the need for aid in the first place, there is little in the way of progress. An example of this is actually boasted about on the “Major Achievements of the United Nations,” in which the statement is made “[S]ince 1950, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has sustained four generations of Palestinians …” (Major UN Achievements 2.)

    Four generations seems to me to be an excessive amount of time for any people to be “sustained”, especially in the case of the Palestinians who have become political pawns in Middle East power struggles and the focus of the ideology of many terrorist organizations in the process. Instead of simply sustaining them, I would hope the goal of this world body would be to free the Palestinians from their current state of affairs.

    One wonders how a people under the care of the United Nations have become so used for so long. I realize many are quick to point their finger at Israel, but keep in mind that Israel is itself a United Nations created country (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, passed on 27 November 1947(4))! So, is the U.N. and its aid a solution, or a quick fix? (State of Israel 1-21)

    In the course of my studies on this topic, it has become more and more apparent to me that the United Nations is a hollow shell, albeit based on some lofty, well meaning goals and ideas. Born out of World War, it seems to have become a vessel for political agendas, not for the good of the whole.

    With its failure becoming more and more apparent with the horror stories being told by the newly liberated Iraqi people, I wonder how many other peoples around the word are in similar or soon to be similar situations.

    The U.N. appears to be of little real help to the world, its functions easily taken up by private organizations or international groups created through multi-national treaties and alliances. It is my belief that the General Assembly alone can and should provide a world forum where all countries can debate issues on an equal footing. It can provide a single body for world diplomacy. As for the rest of the U.N., it should take its place next to the League of Nations as a good idea for its time, but well past it.

    ”Works Cited”

    Anderson, Mary J. “Leaders Lean Toward Consensus on U.N.” Online posting. 08 Sept. 2000. WorldNetDaily. 06 Apr. 2003
    https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17629

    Anderson, Mary J. “Who Polices the U.N. Police?” Online posting. 02 Feb. 2000. WorldNetDaily. 04 Apr. 2003
    https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=16290

    “Current Conflicts.” Map. Current Conflicts. Federation of American
    Scientists. 15 Apr. 2003
    https://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/war/world_map.gif

    Krauthammer, Charles. “Iraq to Chair U.N. Disarmament Conference?” Online
    posting. 31 Jan. 2003. Townhall.com. 06 Apr. 2003
    https://www.townhall.com/columnists/charleskrauthammer/ck20030131.shtml

    Lamb, Henry. “‘No’ to Global Governance.” Online posting. 07 Sept. 200.
    WorldNetDaily. 15 Apr. 2003
    https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28865

    Major UN Achievements. Aug. 2002. United Nations. 08 Apr. 2003
    https://www.un.org/aboutun/achieve.htm

    “Map of Freedom 2002.” Map. Map of Freedom 2002. Freedom House. 08 Apr. 2003
    https://www.freedomhouse.org/pdf_docs/research/freeworld/2002/map2002.pdf

    Soderberg, Nancy E. “Take Back the U.N …” Online posting. 29 Jan. 2003. The
    Washington Times: www.washingtontimes.com. 08 Apr. 2003
    https://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20030129-18137234.htm

    State of Israel. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. UN General Assembly Resolution
    181 . 1999. 15 Apr. 2003 https://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00ps0

    “The United Nations System.” Chart. United Nations. 08 Apr. 2003
    https://www.un.org/aboutun/chart.html

    The United Nations, The Founding of the UN. 1999. IBM 1999 World Book. 07
    Apr. 2003
    https://franklaughter.tripod.com/cgi-bin/histprof/misc/unitednations.html

    The World at War. Federation of American Scientists. 08 Apr. 2003
    https://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/war/

    ”’Guy Foster is an adult education student at Leeward Community College. He can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:wer454@hawaii.rr.com

    Grassroot Perspective – May 1, 2003-Medicare, Prescription Drugs and Insurance; New Teachers Pay the Collective Bargaining Price; Hawaii Subs Vs. LIUNA; Are We Eating Ourselves to Death?

    Hawaii Reporter
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    “Dick Rowland Image”

    ”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”

    – Medicare, Prescription Drugs and Insurance

    Author: Mark Pauly, Ph.D.

    Source: House Ways and Means Committee Testimony, 4/9/03

    Prof. Pauly of the Wharton School recommends that Congress base its
    decisions about Medicare and prescription drug policy on the principles
    of providing true insurance and helping people with low incomes purchase
    needed medicines they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. Insurance
    should provide protection against “the rare high cost event that spells
    financial disaster,” and he argues for “insurance that provides full
    coverage above a deductible, with the deductible stated as a percentage
    of household income.” For those who may be “miffed at not getting an
    equal slice of government largesse,” Pauly says, “Congress should play
    an educational and leadership role in explaining to citizens that it is
    not in the long run desirable for most people to ‘make money’ from
    insurance.”
    Full text: https://www.waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=view&id=281

    Above is quoted from the Galen Institute, Health Policy Matters April 18
    2003 https://www.galen.org

    – New Teachers Pay the Collective Bargaining Price

    When the money is flowing, and record raises are being handed out, times
    are good for both teachers and their unions. But when the need to
    tighten belts becomes inevitable, someone always loses his pants. More
    and more, that someone is the new teacher.

    In Colorado, districts have trouble attracting new teachers because they
    always end up in the worst schools. “They stay three or four years, then
    they choose to transfer to a school where the work is not as hard,” one
    district administrator told the Rocky Mountain News. Transfers according
    to seniority have a significant effect on teacher retention — one
    factor unlikely to be mentioned by union representatives.

    In Arizona, first-year teacher Kathy Davis appeared in series of
    newspaper articles because of her creative teaching methods. This year,
    she got a pink slip. “She will be replaced by someone with more
    experience and more seniority,” said her school principal. “It can’t be
    avoided at this time.”

    In Nebraska, the Crete Education Association (CEA), famous for its
    lawsuit against the school district for paying a teacher too much,
    negotiated a new contract without “objectionable language” that had
    allowed the district to place new teachers higher on the salary scale.
    “It was our association’s priority,” said CEA President Jennene
    Anderson, claiming the old provision was a “source of staff morale
    problems.”

    In Oregon, the Portland Association of Teachers is considering an unfair
    labor practice complaint over a contract provision that allows the
    district to pay new teachers $2,000 more than the salary scale allows.

    In California, the Richmond school district sent layoff notices to 11
    new teachers at Washington Elementary School, prompting a parent and
    student protest. Four of these teachers are on the school’s leadership
    team and are described as “some of its most energetic teachers.” But
    efforts to bypass the seniority list are met with stiff union
    resistance.

    “I hesitate to say one teacher is better than another teacher,” said
    Jeff Cloutier, executive director of the United Teachers of Richmond.

    What Cloutier means is that he hesitates to speak the truth. Some
    teachers are better than others. A system that doesn’t allow
    differentiation between good and bad (or even good and better) is doomed
    to failure.

    – Hawaii Subs Vs. LIUNA

    EIA has been tracking an unusual situation in Hawaii, where Local 368 of
    the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) is seeking
    authority to represent the state’s 5,000 substitute teachers. The state
    legislature passed a bill that would allow union representation of subs,
    and that bill is now on the desk of Gov. Linda Lingle, who has not
    indicated whether she will sign or veto it.

    If Lingle signs the bill, a labor organization would need authorization
    cards from at least 30 percent of the state’s registered substitute
    teachers to force a representation election. That would be a difficult
    hurdle, but the state Department of Education ruled last month that subs
    will need college degrees to teach in Hawaii schools. This ruling had
    the dual effect of spurring the union movement while lowering the
    threshold for authorization cards. Only about 3,600 Hawaii substitute
    teachers have college degrees.

    But LIUNA’s gains have come at the expense of the substitute teachers
    who started the unionization movement last fall. Subs on Kauai, Maui and
    Oahu have banded together to form the Substitute Teachers Professional
    Alliance (STPAL). STPAL activists tell EIA they are gathering signatures
    independently of LIUNA and will decide later when, and if, they should
    affiliate with a national union.

    What happens in Hawaii is significant, because it would be the first
    instance of a statewide labor organization of substitute teachers in the
    United States. Even 3,600 active members would match the size of the
    University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, which is the NEA-affiliated
    union of higher education faculty.

    – DC Gives New Meaning to “Voucher Scheme.” Michael W. Martin became the
    second person to plead guilty to charges stemming from the theft of more
    than $5 million from the Washington Teachers Union. Martin was the
    hairstylist and image consultant for former union President Barbara A.
    Bullock, who allegedly converted members’ dues into luxury items and
    clothing for herself and her cronies.

    Along with his plea, Martin filed a statement of facts that claims he
    created a consulting firm at the request of Bullock for the express
    purpose of laundering dues money and kicking cash back to Bullock.
    Martin netted $480,000 over a three-year period for this service, using
    some of the ill-gotten gains for Washington Redskins tickets, furniture
    and a vacation. Martin found one other use for his share of the loot:
    private school tuition for his children.

    Martin probably does not appreciate the irony, but DC teachers should.
    While Bullock was spending dues money to keep vouchers out of the hands
    of the district’s poorest residents, she was also using dues money to
    provide a “school voucher” for Martin’s children.

    Despite his own sins, Martin can hardly be faulted for his school
    choice. Last week the Washington Post reported that the DC Public
    Schools paid a financial consultant $280,000 over the past six months.
    His primary job? To “identify problems that have caused overspending.”

    You don’t need a consultant to identify a train wreck. You need a
    cleanup crew.

    Above are quoted from The Education Intelligence Agency, Communique
    April 14, 2003

    ”Roots (Food for Thought)”

    – Are We Eating Ourselves to Death?

    Author: Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D and Robert J. Cihak, M.D.

    Published: The Heartland Institute 03/01/2003

    Is there or is there not an epidemic of obesity? Should you worry about
    that growing cummerbund around your waist? Of course not. We all
    perished 10 years ago in the global famine, so confidently predicted by
    the environmental apocalyptics of the 1970s. Or had you forgotten?

    But maybe we should worry … because there’s another apocalypse coming.
    This time, if you believe the Guardians of Girth and Dictators of Diet,
    America is about to become the first nation in history to eat itself to
    death.

    Clearly, Americans weigh more than they used to. So does much of the
    rest of the human race. (Spend some time looking at armor or clothing in
    a museum, or travel to Japan if you doubt this.) But there is an
    epidemic of muddled diagnosis and wrong-headed thinking on this heavy
    subject.

    Two Facts, for Starters

    First, “overweight” is an arbitrary and to some extent culturally
    defined construct, a set of height/weight/body type/body fat percentage
    relationships you read off a chart. Any individual’s comfortable and
    healthful, let alone “ideal,” weight might vary significantly.
    Metabolism matters. So does occupation, lifestyle, and myriad other
    factors.

    Second, overweight (as opposed to genuine obesity) is in most instances
    the result of the human body’s natural ability to store extra calories
    as fat–a survival-enhancing mechanism from those eons when you never
    knew when the next woolly mammoth barbecue might be. “Calorie” is
    actually a measure of heat or energy. The image of the body “burning up”
    calories is pretty close to the physiologic truth.

    For every extra 3,300 calories accumulated and stored as fat in the
    body, you gain one pound of fat weight, plus extra fluids. Further,
    whatever the nutrient value of specific foods may be, all calories are
    created equal. As Michael Fumento, author of The Fat of the Land,
    writes: “Maintaining a healthful body weight is no more complex or
    magical than simply balancing calories burned vs. calories consumed,
    regardless of the source.”

    They’re Wrong

    If overweight is an epidemic, the national health statistics should show
    it. But statistically — and despite all the other fashionable
    fears — we’re actually getting healthier and living longer, better lives.
    So, what’s going on?

    At one level, it’s snobbery: the elitist conviction that Americans can’t
    be trusted to take care of themselves, and that the “Holier/Healthier
    than Thou” crowd must therefore lobby and legislate and sue and try to
    force people to live according to their standards. Social engineering
    and coercion flaunt “scientific” evidence that doesn’t stand up, often
    for the simple reason that it doesn’t exist to begin with.

    As Steve Milloy of junkscience.com writes, “the simplistic notion that
    dietary fat is bad was a political and business judgment, not a
    scientific one.”

    It seems to have started back in 1977, when a Senate committee led by
    George McGovern issued a report advising Americans to consume less fat
    to avoid “killer diseases,” then supposedly sweeping the country.

    The politically dutiful National Institutes of Health joined the
    anti-fat bandwagon, a move that spawned the low-fat food industry — a
    boon to consumer choice, but not necessarily one with a beneficial
    health impact.

    As Fumento notes: “Since 1977-78, fat as a percentage of our diets has
    dropped by over 17 percent, even as obesity has increased by over 25
    percent. The fewer calories we’ve taken in from fat, the fatter we’ve
    become.”

    But the low-fat bandwagon was a boon to activists seeking funding and
    power, especially the Food and Drug Administration, the National Academy
    of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health,
    and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

    If you were lucky enough to get some exercise equipment or a health-club
    membership last Christmas or Hanukah, do use it. In moderation, of
    course. Overdoing efforts to get the calories off can be more dangerous
    than putting them on.

    Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D. is a multiple award-winning writer who
    comments on medical-legal issues. Robert J. Cihak, M.D. is a former
    president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Both
    doctors are Harvard-trained diagnostic radiologists.

    Above is quoted from the Heartland Institute, Health Care News March
    2003 www.heartland.org

    ”Evergreen (Today’s Quote)”

    “Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which
    takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications, and to watch
    over their fate. That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident, and
    mild. It would be like the authority of a parent, if, like that
    authority, its object was to prepare men for manhood; but it seeks, on
    the contrary, to keep them in perpetual childhood: It is well content
    that the people should rejoice, provided they think of nothing but
    rejoicing.” — Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America [1835]

    ”’Edited by Richard O. Rowland, president of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. He can be reached at (808) 487-4959 or by email at:”’ mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com ”’For more information, see its Web site at:”’ https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/

    From Disciplinary Measures to Watching Over Children

    Hawaii Reporter
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    “Suzanne Gelb Image”

    ”Timeout – Where to Implement It?”

    Dear Dr. Gelb:

    My 10-year-old is acting up and I have been giving her timeout in her bedroom. It’s working, but I read somewhere that the bedroom is not a good place for this. Do you agree?

    Firm Parent

    Dear Firm Parent:

    I agree with your firmness regarding positive behavior, and I believe that consequences must follow inappropriate behavior. Consequences should be in proportion to serve the need. If a consequence is not working by motivating a change in behavior, then the consequence must be upgraded and enforced to bring about an attitude change.

    However, in my opinion, it is unhealthy to use the bedroom for consequences because the bedroom is where people rest and sleep and usually feel content and safe. It has been said that to use the bedroom for timeout is counter productive because it may create poor sleeping habits such as insomnia, nightmares and restless sleep. The subconscious tends to look upon the bedroom as a prison, associating it with confinement and restriction. Timeout can be implemented in the study, the garage, or the kitchen, for example, the basic criteria being that bedroom is not conducive to such disciplinary measures.

    ”Appointments – When Do I Stop Accompanying My Child?”

    Dear Dr. Gelb:

    My 15-year-old son wants to go to his doctor and dentist appointments on his own. Of course his father or I drive him to and from the appointment, but should we still accompany him to and from and at the appointment, or is it time to let him go on his own?

    Letting Go

    Dear Letting Go:

    That is what you will be doing if you let him go. The thoughts that go through my mind as I read your question are, “Can you trust this young mind to go to the dentist and what will that young mind be doing between home and the dentist?” I know that this sounds old fashioned, but I believe that children are given far too much freedom to roam the wilderness of our undisciplined society, and in my opinion our society has become undisciplined largely because many parents are too busy or too selfish and self-centered to love enough and care enough to restrain, to chaperone, to know at all times what their youth is doing, where they are at and what they are doing when they get there. It is unlikely that a 15-year-old mind can be fully trusted because of the natural curiosity, imagination and all those urges and tendencies that invariably cause young people to want to explore and taste the fruit of freedom. My stand is to let them continue to earn their freedom as they grow, until they have developed a frame of reference to the point where self direction and self-discipline can take over and serve them for the rest of their lives.

    I realize that when one is young, three or four years seems like forever until they can become their own boss, but to the parent the age of majority is just around the corner, and there is barely enough time to take a deep breath from the time their children are out of the womb and before they are off to college. To me, relatively speaking, that is such a brief moment to enjoy the privilege of parenting.

    ”’Suzanne J. Gelb, Ph.D., J.D. authors this daily column, Dr. Gelb Says, which answers questions about daily living and behavior issues. Dr. Gelb is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Honolulu. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Human Services. Dr. Gelb is also a published author of a book on Overcoming Addictions and a book on Relationships.”’

    ”’This column is intended for entertainment use only and is not intended for the purpose of psychological diagnosis, treatment or personalized advice. For more about the column’s purpose, see”’ “An Online Intro to Dr. Gelb Says”

    ”’Email your questions to mailto:DrGelbSays@hawaiireporter.com More information on Dr. Gelb’s services and related resources available at”’ https://www.DrGelbSays.com

    City Council Debates Substantial Property Tax Increase, Numerous Fee Hikes Proposed by Mayor Jeremy Harris-Hearing Tonight, Beginning at 4 p.m.

    Hawaii Reporter
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    Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris is pushing one of the highest-ever tax increase in the history of Honolulu as well as increases to the vast majority of city fees to fund the proposed 5.5 percent increase in his operating budget.

    Tonight, beginning at 4 p.m., 9 elected members of the Honolulu City Council will debate whether to grant Harris his $1.2 billion budget as it stands, including the tax and fee increases Harris is advocating.

    Some of the council members have been vocal in their opposition to the mayor’s plan, including Rod Tam, Budget Chair Ann Kobayashi and Zoning Chair Charles Djou, who in several forums this year opposed tax increases.

    Djou, who remains adamant in his opposition to any tax increases, says the economy in Hawaii, because of the impact of America’s war on terrorism, the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and the SARS virus on the visitor industry, is too vulnerable to withstand more negative pressure.

    Rather than increasing taxes and fees, Djou says the mayor should cut his more than $1 billion budget by 2 percent.

    Other critics in the Council say the mayor should cut his non-essential promotions and projects, such as Sunset on the Beach and Brunch on the Beach, as well as the creation of numerous new park facilities, to avoid increases yet meet the demands for the city’s essential services.

    The mayor claims Djou’s proposal would be disastrous and shut down the city’s vital services, something Djou says is absolutely untrue.

    Some of the fee and tax increases proposed in Bills 10 through 22 are listed below:

    *Bill 10 City Council’s budget
    *Bill 11 Executive branch’s budget
    *Bill 12 Capital Improvement budget
    *Bill 13 Bonds issuance (finances capital budget)

    Bills 14 through 22 include specific fee increases:

    *Bill 14 raids the solid waste fund of $18 million (do not confuse this with the raid on the city sewer fund over the last two years of $100 million — this is a different fund);

    *Bill 15 increases the entrance fee to Hanauma Bay from $3 to $5, a 66 percent increase, and takes away concession funds to use for another purpose;

    *Bill 16 increases the bus fare passes by $3 per month;

    *Bill 17 increases the tipping fees to landfills and imposes a fee on residents for recycling;

    *Bill 18 increases the sewer hook up fee substantially from $1,146 to $4,641. This fee will effect residents with cesspools and developers.

    *Bill 19 raises the amount of virtually every fee imposed by the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting. Developers estimate these fee increases, along with the sewer hook up fee increase, will raise the cost of new homes between $5,000 and $10,000.

    *Bill 20 will impose a $5 fee on car registration costs to go toward the city’s clean up of abandoned vehicles.

    *Bill 21 will raise the cost to residents (typically lower income residents use this service) neutering their dog or cat at the Humane Society. The cost will go up from $29 for a female dog or cat and $18 for a male dog or cat to $75 for a female dog, $50 for a male dog or female cat and $40 for a male cat.

    *Bill 22 imposes a $2 fee on people who make transactions at the 11 Satellite City Halls around the island of Oahu.

    Members of the public and the mayor’s administration will be at City Hall to testify at the hearing, which also will be broadcast on Olelo Community Television (Channel 54 on Oceanic).

    Care Bill? Get Real -Long-term Care Tax is Nothing But a Grab for Money, Power

    Hawaii Reporter
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    The ”’Honolulu Advertiser”’ today opted to tell their readers in their top front page story in that the “Legislature OKs Care Bill.”

    “Care” Bill? Come on.

    What the headline should read: “Legislators Pass the Highest-Ever Tax in Hawaii’s History” or how about a real headline, “The Long-term Care Tax is Nothing But a Grab for Money, Power.”

    Make no mistake. What the majority Democrats in the House and Senate did yesterday when they passed the long-term care tax bill — generating the highest tax increase in Hawaii’s history and imposing a mandatory monthly tax on nearly all adults in Hawaii — was not “caring” as the Honolulu Advertiser likes to promote. Nor was it compassionate, responsible, reasonable, rational or one bit good for the people of Hawaii. It was not for the children or the elderly of Hawaii.

    Ultimately the largest tax increase was passed by legislators for legislators who want to gain more power, more money and more control to better their own lives, careers and pocketbooks. While some are socialists and genuinely believe they are being compassionate, this pillage was spearheaded and taken advantage of by legislators who don’t mind taking money away from the youth or the elderly or people who are working two or three jobs trying to make ends meet.

    What did legislators actually decide to do yesterday, the 59th day of the 60-day legislative session? They passed legislation mandating nearly everyone in Hawaii between the ages of 25 and 99 pay the government an additional tax between $10 and $25 per month, which constitutes the highest-ever tax increase in Hawaii’s history. This when Hawaii residents already have the fourth-highest tax burden in the nation. They established a new special fund — expected to reach $1 billion in 8 years — that will allegedly be used to redistribute that funding to anyone who qualifies before a yet-to-be-determined board for long-term care and who is vested in the program for 10 years or more. They grew government by authorizing more bureaucracy be recruited to run and manage the program, and by adding more mandates to the people of Hawaii.

    Don’t be fooled. This program is not for the poor and needy who are already taken care of by federal and state funds. This program is for the middle class, the wealthy, who can buy their own long-term care private plan, sell their property or dip into savings to cover their long-term care expenses, but who choose to have the government and taxpayers take care of them. Middle class and wealthy who may be lulled into believing the state is meeting their long-term needs, thus being discouraged from saving or investing it in long-term care insurance.

    The message the majority of Democrat lawmakers is sending by passing this legislation is “Don’t trust the free-market, rather rely on government.” (We’re from the government, we are here to help you.) Hawaii’s people are not smart enough to take care of themselves, and Hawaii’s families are not compassionate enough to take care of each other. Hawaii’s people should be punished in advance for not taking care of themselves in their later years, especially those on fixed incomes who will pay the same amount as those with higher incomes, and who will be pushed further into debt and poverty with this tax.

    Most appalling — these elected officials are perpetuating fraud on the very people who put them into office, entrusted them with their well-being and who are paying them.

    Fraud because they are promising to take care of those needing long-term care vested in the system for 10 years, but they have absolutely no intention of doing so. Rather they will merely authorize the long-term care patient up to $70 per day for one year and one year only. Never mind long-term care costs are much more than that per day now, and will be considerably more in 10 years when the first group of long-term care guinea pigs may get their $70 per day. Never mind people do live longer than one year in elderly care facilities, yet after one year, they will be out of money and out of luck.

    Fraud because what this debate is all about is not caring for the elderly of Hawaii. It is about money, power and control. People have fewer options when they have fewer resources and as a result, their freedoms and choices are restricted. Conversely, legislators have more choices when they have more taxpayer money to spend on the programs and special interest legislation they want to support. And they have more power and control to determine who benefits from that wealth and how that will help forward their lives, their political and professional careers, and their pocketbooks.

    Hawaii voters must remember those Democrat legislators who voted yes yesterday to taking away their freedoms, their options and control over their own lives and who tipped the scales of prosperity away from the people who earned it, toward the people who simply like to take it away.

    They must send a message now through emails, faxes and phone calls to the legislators, to the governor and to the media who applaud this legislation that it is not “caring,” rather extremely punishing and detrimental to Hawaii’s people and that they are not fooled as to who will truly benefit. They must send a message now and through the elections of 2004 their action is not “OK.”

    ”Senators Voting in Favor of Long-term Care Tax (16)”

    *Roz Baker, D- Maui
    *Robert Bunda, D-North Shore
    *Suzanne Chun Oakland, D-Nuuanu
    *Kalani English, D-Maui
    *Carol Fukunaga, D-Makiki
    *Colleen Hanabusa, D-Waianae
    *Gary Hooser, D-Kauai
    *Les Ihara, D-Kaimuki
    *Lorraine Inouye, D-Big Island
    *Brian Kanno, D-Kapolei
    *Cal Kawamoto, D-Waipahu
    *Donna Kim, D-Kalihi
    *Russell Kokubun, D-Big Island
    *Ron Menor, D-Mililani
    *Norman Sakamoto, D-Moanalua
    *Brian Taniguchi, D-Manoa

    ”Senators Voting Against Long-term Care Tax Bill (9)”

    *Melodie Aduja, D-Kahaluu
    *Willie Espero, D-Ewa
    *Fred Hemmings, R-Kailua
    *Bob Hogue, R-Kaneohe
    *David Ige, D-Pearl City
    *Sam Slom, R-Hawaii Kai
    *Gordon Trimble, R-Waikiki
    *Shan Tsutsui, D-Maui
    *Paul Whalen, R-Big Island

    ”Representatives Voting in Favor of Long-term Care Tax Bill (27)”

    *Felipe P. Abinsay, D-Sand Island
    *Dennis Arakaki, D-Kalihi
    *Jerry Chang, D-Big Island
    *Helene Hale, D-Big Island
    *Eric Hamakawa, D-Big Island
    *Robert Herkes, D-Big Island
    *Kenneth Hiraki, D-Iwalei
    *Ken Ito, D-Kaneohe
    *Michael Kahekina, D-Nanikuli
    *Sol Kaho’ohalahala, D-Maui County
    *Ezra Kanoho, D-Kauai
    *Bertha Kawakami, D-Kauai
    *Marilyn Lee, D-Mililani
    *Sylvia Luke, D-Punchbowl
    *Michael Y. Magaoay, D-North Shore
    *Hermina Morita, D-Kauai
    *Blake Oshiro, D-Aiea
    *Marcus Oshiro, D-Wahiawa
    *Scott Saiki, D-McCully
    *Calvin Say, D-Kalihi
    *Brian Shatz, D-Tantalus
    *Maile Shimabukaro, D-Waianae
    *Joseph Souki, D-Maui
    *K. Mark Takai, D-Pearl City
    *Dwight Takamine, D-Big Island
    *Roy Takumi, D-Waipahu
    *Glenn Wakai, D-Moanalua Valley

    ”Representatives Voting Against Long-term Care Tax Bill (24)”

    *Brian Blundell, R-Maui
    *Kika Bukoski, R-Maui
    *Kirk Caldwell, D-Manoa
    *Corrine Ching, R-Nuuanu
    *Cindy Evans, D-Big Island
    *Lynn Finnegan, R-Stadium
    *Galen Fox, R-Waikiki
    *Chris Halford, R-Maui
    *Mark Jernigan, R-Big Island
    *Jon Karamatsu, D-Waipahu
    *Bertha Leong, R-Aina Haina
    *Barbara Marumoto, R-Kahala
    *Colleen Meyer, R-Kahaluu
    *Romy Mindo, D-Ewa
    *Mark Moses, R-Kapolei
    *Bob Nakasone, D-Maui
    *Scott Nishimoto, D-Kaimuki
    *Guy Ontai, R-Mililani
    *David Pendleton, R-Kailua
    *Alex Sonson, D-Pearl City
    *Bud Stonebraker, R-Hawaii Kai
    *Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo, D-Ewa
    *Cynthia Thielen, R-Kailua
    *Tommy Waters, D-Waimanalo

    ”’To reach legislators, see:”’ “Representatives at a Glance” and “Senators at a Glance”

    Hawaii State Legislature Gets 'F' in Education Reform

    Hawaii Reporter
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    “Laura Brown Image”

    The 2003 legislative session began with high hopes and promises for meaningful education reform, including initiatives for local school boards, a tax credit for K-12 scholarships, amending the flawed charter school law, principals out of the union, funding appropriated to individual schools based on student needs, and increased school choice. Democrat Senators then not only killed these bills, they reaffirmed public employees’ right to blow smoke in students faces, slammed a $20 per student textbook fee on the hardworking families of this state, and approved a bill that would allow Department of Education district administrators each an estimated $40,000 raise over and above their $80,000 per year salaries.

    ”Bills Benefit Powerful Unions and Hurt Parents and Students”

    HB 1175 provides for 15 “complex-area” superintendents instead of 7 district superintendents with salaries at 80 percent of the state superintendent’s $150,000 per year salary or $120,000 per year. The salary portion of the bill was amended in conference committee. The bill originally capped assistant and deputy superintendent pay at approximately $65,000 – $75,000 per year.

    Then, as a double-whammy, HB 289 “codified” these 15 “complex-areas” into law. Senate Education Chair Norman Sakamoto assured his colleagues on the Senate floor that this bill was necessary to “create a complex management structure that would align curricula with statewide performance standards.” However, HB 289 oversteps the Board of Education’s constitutional authority to set education policy and, at the same time, solidifies approximately 3,000 DOE middle management positions into an inflexible structure that will be unnecessary and hard to remove under a local school board structure.

    Sadistically, the Senate Democrats then moved to impose a $20 textbook fee on all students. Sen. Sakamoto admitted that most of the $134,000 in textbook losses was just due to textbooks getting “old” and needing to be replaced, not due to abuse by students.

    A previous statewide audit of textbook purchases revealed a severe problem with miscoding of textbook purchases into the DOE Financial Management System, with legal fees and other costs entered as textbooks. In other words, “missing” textbooks may have never existed at all.

    ”Smoking in the Boy’s Room Okay with Legislators and UPW”

    HB 248 to ban smoking at schools by public employees was addressed in conference committee on April 24th. Although there was enormous support among most education committee members for passing HB 248, Sen. Kanno succumbed to pressure from the United Public Workers Union and said the DOE should be given more time to settle the issue through an agreement rather than legislation.

    UPW leader Peter Trask reportedly testified before the Senate Education Committee that he would have an agreement completed in 90 days. The DOE currently has an administrative rule prohibiting smoking on school campuses; however, legislators ultimately allowed union rights to take precedence over the health and safety of children.

    ”New Bureaucracy Created for Charter Schools”

    In spite of extensive meetings between U.S. DOE Undersecretary Dean Kern, charter school representatives and legislators, progress on amending Hawaii’s charter school law was halted during conference committee. SB 1700 SD1 HD2 CD1 replaces the authority of the superintendent with an executive director of a charter school agency that duplicates the function of the DOE. This agency will skim off 2 percent of all funds earmarked for charter schools to pay for its operating costs and will distribute all funding to charter schools over three pay periods per school year. The bill does not provide any means of holding this agency and charter schools accountable for funding and performance.

    Kern’s recommendations to remove caps on number of charter schools, remove collective bargaining, create multiple authorizers, give authority to the Superintendent, develop measurable goals, allow for public review, remove Board of Education members from the New Century Charter Review Panel and allow each charter school to become a Local Education Agency went unheeded.

    SB 1700 did increase per pupil funding by approximately $2,000 per student. However, language regarding placement of special education students by the Department of Education runs contrary to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Failure to provide funding based on student needs, allowing only for a standard staffing formula instead, will prevent charter schools from developing programs that serve children with special needs.

    ”Local School Board Initiative Stillborn”

    SB 1336, introduced as part of the governor’s package to replace Hawaii’s statewide school system with locally elected school boards never even got a hearing. Even though the governor’s bill was proclaimed by the Senate Education Chair’s Education Specialist as an “excellent bill,” it was bypassed for Sen. Sakamoto’s “kitchen sink” bills that threw in so many unrelated issues and ideas that he was forced to draw elaborate multi-colored flow charts to try to explain to his committee members just what he was trying to do. His own committee members tactfully suggested they deal with per pupil funding first and then work on governance structures.

    HB 714 was supposed to allow for the ballot question asking the public if they were in favor of creating local school boards. At the end of the legislative process, the Democrat Education Chairs mutilated the ballot question to ask the public if they would like for the legislature to decide on local school boards, thus defeating the whole purpose of the initiative.

    ”Never Fear, There’s Always Next Year”

    During the third and final reading of bills, Sen. Sakamoto assured his Senate colleagues that “there is always next year” for education reform. This is exactly what was said last year when he killed the initiative for local school boards that had unanimous support in both House and Senate.

    There may always be a next year for politicians who assume that they are immune from being held accountable for their negligence to act in the best interests of children. Meanwhile, according to a newly released report by the Department of Education, only a little more than half of Hawaii’s high school students are graduating, while the remaining 60 percent to 80 percent are not proficient in reading and mathematics.

    Politicians have all the time in the world to make decisions that will improve Hawaii’s dismal public school record, but each year without reform means lost educational opportunities for tens of thousands of children.

    Not until the public gets angry with those in office who are hurting their children will there be any chance of education reform in Hawaii.

    ”’Laura Brown is the education reporter for HawaiiReporter.com and can be reached via email at”’ mailto:LauraBrown@hawaii.rr.com

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