Hawaii’s charter schools are designed to serve as incubators of educational innovation. Each has built-in flexibility stretching beyond what we see in a typical traditional public school, and each has its own governing board. Given that sort of autonomy, they can radiate the independent vibe we associate with private schools.
But charter schools are not private schools. They do not charge tuition. They’re state-legislated public schools funded with taxpayer dollars on a “per-pupil” allocation and operating under contract with the state’s Public Charter School Commission. While they’re allotted more freedom than most public schools over budgets, staffing, curricula and other operations, they’re supposed to hold to academic and financial accountability measures similar to those for traditional schools.
A recent state Board of Education (BOE) report that dings the commission for lack of strategic vision serves as a warning that despite an ongoing effort to draw clear lines of accountability and authority, such lines guiding these semi-autonomous schools of choice in Hawaii are still fuzzy.
Since the BOE-appointed nine-member commission was created in 2012, it has been tasked with a tough and sometimes thankless job, which has wedged it into damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t predicaments.
The recent BOE months-long investigation was touched off by complaints from some charter schools alleging that commission oversight is too heavy-handed. A few years ago, though, the state auditor asserted that the commission had not acted forcefully enough to shut down a campus for financial insolvency.
The BOE report, conducted by an investigative committee, concludes that the commission “partially meets” its statutory requirements. It recommends that the commission draft corrective action plans and provide the BOE with progress reports. The committee tagged deficiencies ranging from the lack of a strategic vision or organizational goals, to failure to protect school autonomy.
This week the commission accepted the BOE report as constructive criticism. However, there was some tongue-biting about the validity of the investigation, which grew out of a formal listening tour a BOE member conducted with some charter schools. Many gripes aired were expressed by charter schools personnel asserting that the commission and its staff were contentious and antagonistic, resulting in a breakdown of the relationship. Catherine Payne, a retired principal who serves as commission chairwoman, countered in a tour summary report: “Comments and allegations were collected in a manner that … appear here to be presented as facts.”
The squabbling dates back to the Hawaii Legislature’s move to reform the overall program after a couple of school administrators were faulted for hiring their relatives and apparent misuse of public funds. It formed the commission to authorize high-quality charter schools. Its predecessor, the charter school administrative office, had focused on providing support services. While school leaders and others adjust to a program that’s now more structured and less free-form, they shouldn’t fault the commission for trying to doing its job.
The commission should be commended for establishing performance contracts with renewal criteria — both academic and financial — for schools, and instituting a rigorous application process to approve new charter schools. The need for clear lines of accountability and authority is especially critical now as contracts with more than 30 schools, enrolling a total of more than 10,000 students, are up for renewal.
What’s more, Tuesday’s U.S. Senate confirmation of school-choice advocate Betsy DeVos as education secretary should prod Hawaii charter schools leaders to make crystal-clear the scope of the state’s program, which has been underway here since the mid-1990s. Among scores of education matters percolating at the federal level, DeVos will be expected to react to President Donald Trump’s campaign proposal of funneling $20 billion of public funds toward school vouchers. Accountability to taxpayers footing the bill will be more crucial than ever.
