Kula Aupuni Ni`ihau A Kahelelani Aloha

Close ties color boards' decisions

Susan Essoyan, Star Advertiser

Some of Hawaii's charter school boards are so closely entwined with their school's leadership that the relationships could limit their ability to exercise independent oversight, a critical component to ensuring success.

Each volunteer board is responsible for governing the school, hiring the principal, setting policy and ensuring financial and academic viability, but a few might simply let the principal call the shots.

Some recent cases that have raised concern:

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Kamehameha Schools pumps funds into sites of all sizes

Susan Essoyan, Star Advertiser

As schools of choice, startup charter schools must attract students to survive.

They depend largely on per-pupil money from the state, and without enough enrollment to cover their overhead, they risk going out of business.

"If you look at charter schools across the country, on average 10 percent of charters are revoked each year," said Rep. Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Education Committee. "Why? It's because they are meant to be experiments. There are going to be some successes and some failures.

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