CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 174

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2007

RE:    S.B. No. 1614

       S.D. 1

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam and Sir:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1614, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to improve teacher recruitment and licensing by appropriating funds for the implementation of a new human resource management model for Waianae High School and its feeder elementary and middle schools.

     Your Committee on Conference finds that a critical teacher shortage currently exists in Hawaii.  As a result, the State must focus on efforts to grow and develop a teacher workforce, as well as recruit and retain qualified teachers in the public schools today. Recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers is a significant problem at Waianae High School, where only slightly more than half of the teachers are fully licensed. 

     Your Committee on Conference further finds that Waianae High School currently serves approximately two thousand students with only one hundred fifty teachers.  Many of the students in Waianae are living at or below the poverty level, and the academic achievement of most Waianae public schools demonstrates a lack of learning.  Accordingly, your Committee on Conference recognizes the need for action in the Waianae public schools and believes that the utilization of a human resource management model could be beneficial to the school, its students, and the community at large.

     Upon further review, your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an appropriation amount of $500,000 for each year of the fiscal biennium 2007-2009 for a new human resource management model at Waianae High School; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2007.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1614, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1614, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ ROY TAKUMI, Co-Chair	____________________________ NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair
____________________________ MARILYN B. LEE, Co-Chair	____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Co-Chair