HB2037 HD2 HSCR636-02

STAND. COM. REP. NO.636-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2037

H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 2037, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION REFORM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to decentralize Hawaii's public education system by shifting accountability to the community level by:

(1) Abolishing the Board of Education (BOE);

(2) Establishing fifteen school complex areas established by the Department of Education (DOE);

(3) Establishing area school boards, one for each complex area;

(4) Setting guidelines for the Superintendent of Education (Superintendent) to be a coordinator to the school complex areas, in addition to managing the DOE;

(5) Establishing complex area superintendents responsible for the educational needs of individual complex areas; and

(6) Transferring the abolished BOE's responsibilities to the Superintendent.

The Hawaii Business Roundtable submitted testimony in support of the intent of this bill. BOE, DOE, Hawaii Government Employees Association, and Hawaii State Teachers Association submitted testimony in opposition to this bill.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Changing the name of "complex areas" to "districts";

(2) Changing the name of "complex area superintendent" to "district administrator";

(3) Creating the School District Apportionment Commission (Commission) to set up school districts rather than DOE. Your Committee intends that the superintendent who sits on the Commission means the Superintendent under current law until replaced in accordance with this bill;

(4) Deleting the specification that districts be composed of school complexes;

(5) Changing the composition of the district school boards from four elected and three appointed members to five elected members;

(6) Reducing the term of school board members from four to two years;

(7) Specifying that district administrators may be removed by their respective district boards with the approval of the Superintendent;

(8) Specifying that hiring and firing of principals and vice-principals by district administrators be subject to collective bargaining agreements;

(9) Clarifying the roles of the Superintendent, school board, and district;

(10) Creating a Joint Senate-House Task Force (Task Force) to:

(A) Review statutes that will require conforming amendments;

(B) Propose legislation governing the election of district school boards; and

(11) Repealing, rather than amending, outdated statutes relating to libraries;

(12) Streamlining many provisions of the bill that were excessively prescriptive;

(13) Changing the bill to take effect on July 1, 2005, and upon ratification of a constitutional amendment that provides for the abolishment of the BOE and the appointment of the Superintendent by the Governor; provided that the Commission and Task Force shall take effect upon approval and upon the ratification of a constitutional amendment that provides for the abolishment of the BOE and the appointment of the Superintendent by the Governor; and

(14) Making technical nonsubstantive changes for purposes of style and clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2037, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2037, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

		____________________________ DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair