A showdown is brewing between the state's Charter School Review Panel and the interim board for the Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School.
The Interim Local School Board has not yet held a public election for members of the school's permanent Local School Board, although the plan for the school identified September 2011 as a deadline for doing so. Opponents of converting Laupahoehoe's existing elementary and high school to a charter school say that the interim board is postponing such a vote to prevent charter opponents from winning a majority on the permanent board and returning the school's charter to the state.
But, in a letter submitted to the CSRP on Oct. 24, Laupahoehoe's interim board argued that it would not be able to hold elections for the school's permanent board by Nov. 21, a deadline imposed by the review panel in a letter it sent last month.
The interim board also said it made an error in the school's Detailed Implementation Plan when it set a September 2011 deadline for the elections.
"Please be advised the Laupahoehoe Public Charter School cannot lawfully hold a Local School Board election on November 21, 2011 as requested in your October 14, 2011 letter," reads the interim board's letter, which was released Tuesday afternoon in response to an open records request.
"In view of this the Interim Local School Board (ILSB) will promptly submit an amendment to the Detailed Implementation Plan to the CSAO (Charter School Administrative Office) modifying the date of the proposed election for the Local School Board."
According to state law, a new charter school's community must select a number of representatives from various participant groups, including principals, teachers, support staff, parents, student body, and the community at large.
According to the letter, the interim board believes that no election can take place until the new school's staffing and students are cemented for the following year.
"Except for the community at large, none of these participant groups yet exist. ... The election cannot lawfully occur until the eligible voters and candidates are determined. This determination cannot be made until after the parents, teachers and staff of the charter school are identified. This identification cannot lawfully be based on the parents, teachers and students of the present DOE school," the letter states.
Representatives of the current school's faculty, however, say that the interim board is simply stalling for time.
"It's a clever argument. I give them credit for clever, but I don't give them credit for honest," said Bob Beekman, the faculty's union representative. "I think it's very dishonest. The community doesn't want the charter school, and they (the interim board) know it.
"I believe that as soon as the charter was issued, that election should have been held immediately," he added. "I think the Interim Local School Board felt so also. In their Detailed Implementation Plan, they said 'OK, if this is going to be authorized in June, we'll hold it (the election) in September.' Now, they're trying to avoid letting the community vote."
Beekman argued Wednesday that with the new charter school set to launch at the beginning of the next school year, a permanent board must be selected as soon as possible.
"They're making decisions like hiring a new principal, setting the curriculum, making decisions on how money is spent," he said of the interim board. "The law clearly says those decisions have to be made by an elected school board."
The interim board's position is that it has no choice, however. In its defense, the board also claims that the state has provided no clear timeline for when a permanent school board must be selected.
"Our preliminary research also indicates that no particular time period for holding elections has been consistently applied to past local school board elections for other charter schools," the letter to the CSRP reads. "We are informed that the Kona Pacific Charter School election occurred about 6 weeks after school started. Moreover, as a conversion charter school, Laupahoehoe Charter School faces unique circumstances and is treated differently than typical start-up charter schools."
The letter concludes by saying that the board is currently looking at Sept. 30, 2012, as its new deadline to hold elections for the permanent board.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.