STAND. COM. REP. NO. 697

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 1110
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Education and Labor and Public
Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1110 entitled:

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NEW CENTURY SCHOOLS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to create a system of new
century schools that would be free from statutory and regulatory
requirements that tend to inhibit or restrict a school's ability
to make decisions relating to the provision of educational
services to students attending the school.

     Specifically, this bill:

     (1)  Allows the Governor to designate Kapolei Middle School,
          Kapolei High School, and future public schools as new
          century schools by executive order;

     (2)  Requires the Governor's executive order to set forth
          the provisions by which each new century school's
          governing board must manage the operations and
          administration of the school;

     (3)  Exempts new century schools from the laws relating to
          civil service, compensation, public service, leaves of

 
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          absence, the allotment system, the executive budget,
          and procurement;

     (4)  Permits each new century school to transfer and expend
          all allocated funds in accordance with the priorities
          and for the purposes determined by the school;

     (5)  Allows the employees of new century schools to exclude
          themselves from the law relating to collective
          bargaining in public employment;

     (6)  Requires each new century school to have a governing
          board comprised of nine individuals, of which three
          must be parents of students attending the new century
          school, three must be members of the community, and
          three must be at-large members;

     (7)  Places the affairs of a new century school under the
          general management and control of a new century school
          board, the members of which are to be appointed by the
          Governor for four-year terms;

     (8)  Gives a new century school board management and control
          over the general affairs, and exclusive jurisdiction
          over the internal organization and management, of the
          new century school for which the school board has been
          appointed;

     (9)  Allows a new century school board to authorize any
          officer to:

          (A)  Approve and sign on its behalf any voucher or
               otherwise acquire appliances, services, and
               property for the purposes of the new century
               school; and

          (B)  Expend such sums of money as may be placed at the
               disposal of the new century school;

    (10)  Requires all appliances, services, and property
          purchased or acquired for the purposes of a new century
          school to be and to remain the property of the new
          century school, and to be used in perpetuity for the
          benefit of the new century school; and


 
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    (11)  Requires a new century school board to manage the
          inventory, equipment, surplus property, and
          expenditures of the new century school for which the
          school board has been appointed; and allows the new
          century school board to adopt rules further controlling
          and regulating the same.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this bill,
or key portions thereof, from the Department of Budget and
Finance, the Department of Human Resources Development, the
Principal of Lanikai Elementary School, the Hawaii Business
Roundtable, the former chairperson of the Hawaii Business
Roundtable, and several private individuals.

     Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this
bill, or key portions thereof, from the Principal of Kapolei
Middle School, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the Hawaii
Government Employees Association, the Hawaii State Parent,
Teacher, Student Association, Common Cause Hawaii, and several
private individuals.  Several members of the Kapolei community,
including the Department of Education and the
Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board No. 34,
expressed concerns about this bill or key portions thereof.

     Your Committees note that the Director of Human Resources
Development has agreed to discuss collective bargaining issues
with the public employees unions representing school staff, with
the intent of developing alternatives to existing collective
bargaining (master) agreements.  Your Committees believe that the
results of these discussions can be incorporated into this bill
by your Committee on Finance when time permits.

     Your Committees have amended this bill by:

     (1)  Creating a new chapter in the Hawaii Revised Statutes
          entitled "New Century Schools" rather than amending
          chapter 296, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which has been
          repealed;

     (2)  Deleting those provisions:

          (A)  Exempting new century schools from the laws
               relating to civil service, compensation, public
               service, leaves of absence, the allotment system,
               the executive budget, and procurement;


 
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          (B)  Permitting each new century school to transfer and
               expend all allocated funds in accordance with the
               priorities and for the purposes determined by the
               school; and

          (B)  Allowing the employees of new century schools to
               exclude themselves from the law relating to
               collective bargaining in public employment;

     (3)  Requiring each new century school board to consist of
          one member of the school's community, the school's
          parent-community networking center coordinator, two
          members of the school's licensed faculty, one member of
          the school's support staff, and the school's principal,
          in addition to three parents of students attending the
          new century school;

     (4)  Requiring the Governor to appoint the members of an
          initial new century school board for terms of one year;
          and requiring the members of the initial new century
          school board to initiate a mechanism providing for the
          election of subsequent school board members by the
          school's community for terms of two years, but
          excluding those members serving in an ex officio
          capacity;

     (5)  Adding provisions concerning the allocation of state,
          federal, and other funds to new century schools, the
          reimbursement of administrative services provided to
          new century schools by the Department of Education, the
          assessment and evaluation of new century schools, and
          the discontinuance of new century schools by the
          Department of Education;

     (6)  Clarifying that a new century school board may hire a
          principal to serve as the chief executive officer of
          the new century school; and

     (7)  Making technical nonsubstantive changes for purposes of
          clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Education and Labor and Public Employment that are
attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the
intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1110, as amended herein, and
recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto

 
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as H.B. No. 1110, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on
Finance.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Education and
                                   Labor and Public Employment,

                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
TERRY NUI YOSHINAGA, Chair         KEN ITO, Chair

 
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