STAND. COM. REP. NO. 772-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2184

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 2184, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve school governance and student outcomes by:

(1) Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to provide for the election of Board of Education (BOE) members from districts as provided by law;

(2) Providing for the establishment of 17 school districts, with each comprising three representative districts;

(3) Establishing a School District Commission to draw up the initial districts;

(4) Establishing School District Advisory Councils to assist the Commission;

(5) Requiring one BOE member to be elected from each school district; and

(6) Providing for the redrawing of school districts upon reapportionment.

BOE, ILWU Local 142, The Koolau News, and an individual supported this bill. The Hawaii Government Employees Association supported the intent of this bill. The State Representative from the Fourth Representative District opposed this bill.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Changing all references to "school districts" to read "school member districts";

(2) Amending Article IV, Section 2, of the State Constitution to allow the Reapportionment Commission to redraw school member district boundaries;

(3) Clarifying the temporary nature of the school district commission;

(4) Removing the school district advisory councils;

(5) Deleting the requirement that school member districts comprise three representative districts; and

(6) 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. 2184, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2184, H.D. 2.

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

 

____________________________

DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair